A court in Meghalaya has rejected the bail petitions of four persons, all co-accused in the murder case of Indore-based trader, Raja Raghuvanshi. The four co-accused, currently lodged in a prison in Shillong, were arrested from separate locations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in June 2025 following the alleged murder of Raghuvanshi, who was on a honeymoon trip to Meghalaya with his wife, Sonam.
On April 27, the court had granted conditional bail to prime accused, Sonam, holding that the police had failed to properly communicate the specific provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita under which she had been arrested, as required under Article 22(1) of the Constitution. Following Sonam’s release on bail, the counsel for the four co-accused had moved the court seeking similar relief on grounds of parity.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial), Dashalene R. Kharbteng turned down the applications filed by the alleged co-conspirators — Raj Kushwaha, Akash Singh Rajput, Anand Kurmi, and Vishal Singh Chauhan. Special Public Prosecutor K.C. Gautam said on Sunday that the court rejected the plea after finding no merit in the contention that the grounds of arrest had not been communicated to the accused. “The court held that the claim made by the accused that the grounds of arrest were not communicated to them was incorrect. It found that the grounds of arrest had been duly communicated in the proper manner,” Gautam said.
The co-accused had sought bail contending that their constitutional rights under Article 22 had been violated. Additionally, they argued that they had remained in custody for a considerable period and cited pre-trial detention as a ground for release. The court, however, rejected all the submissions. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya High Court has issued notices to the concerned parties after the state government challenged Sonam’s bail order. The state had maintained that Sonam was aware of the grounds of her arrest and has sought cancellation of her bail. The matter is expected to come up for hearing before the high court later this week.