The Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail granted to retired Bhopal district judge Giribala Singh in the Twisha Sharma dowry harassment and death case, quashing an order by a local Bhopal court passed on May 15.

The anticipatory bail had been granted to her by a Sessions court in Bhopal on May 15, just hours after an FIR was lodged by local police in the case, booking her and her son Samarth Singh, Twisha’s husband.

A Single Bench of Justice Devnarayan Mishra issued the order, which had been reserved in the afternoon, late on Thursday (May 27, 2026) night, after hearing two petitions, one by Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma and another by the State Government, challenging the bail granted to Ms. Singh.

During the hearing on Thursday (May 27, 2026) Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Madhya Pradesh Government argued that “the manner in which anticipatory bail was obtained, creates doubt that the trial Court did not consider the aspect relevant for granting anticipatory bail”.

“After granting bail, the respondent was making Press Conferences and making allegations against the deceased and flouting the law. In such a serious matter, when the girl, aged about 33 years, lost her life, the respondent has no remorse and has not tried to cooperate with the Investigating Agency. The trial Court did not consider a single line of the prosecution witnesses and totally believed in the defence documents,” he argued.

In its observations, the High Court noted that some of the injuries found on Twisha’s body were “not caused due to taking out the body from the ligature or carrying out to the hospital” and that one head injury “was antemortem”, suffered before death.

“As per the postmortem report, the death was due to antemortem hanging by ligature, but from the postmortem, it is also clear that six other injuries were found in the body of the deceased, in which four injuries were on the left arm, one on the ring finger and one on the head, and that was antemortem. From the query report, it is also clear that these injuries were not caused by taking out the body from the ligature or carrying out to the hospital,” it observed.

It also said that the trial court did not consider allegations, presented by the victim’s family, against Ms. Singh while granting her the anticipatory bail.

“In light of the above factual aspects of the case and the allegation levelled against the respondent [Ms. Singh], the anticipatory bail order dated May 15, 2026, passed by the 10th Additional Sessions Judge, Bhopal, for the offence punishable under Sections 80(2), 85, 3(5) of BNS, 2023 and Sections 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, is hereby quashed,” the court ruled.

The CBI is expected to arrest Ms. Singh soon, as its counsel Mr. Suyash Guru, said in the court that her custodial interrogation may be required for the case.

“Mystery revolving around the death of the deceased, possible involvement of the influential accused and non-cooperation shown during ongoing investigation, it indicates that the matter is at the initial stage, therefore, custodial interrogation of the respondent may be required and to support their contention,”he said.

The CBI, which took over the case from an SIT of the Bhopal Police on May 25, also became an intervener in the two petition and sought quashing of the local court’s anticipatory bail order, with its counsel Deputy Solicitor General Suyash Mohan Guru claiming that Ms. Singh’s sister who is a private doctor in Bhopal, Dr. Rajbala Singh Bhadoriya, and another private doctor were present inside the post-mortem room during the first autopsy conducted at AIIMS Bhopal on May 13.

The CBI counsel also claimed that the accused had not been able to provide any explanation about some of the injuries found on Twisha’s body.

Earlier on Wednesday (May 28, 2026), a local Bhopal court transferred the custody of Samarth Singh, who was nabbed by the Bhopal Police on May 22, to the CBI. A CBI team also took Mr. Singh to his residence to inspect the house where Twisha was found dead on May 12 night.

Published – May 28, 2026 01:48 am IST

The suspicious death of 33-year-old model and actress Twisha Sharma has taken a critical turn as a Bhopal court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of her absconding lawyer-husband, Samarth Singh.

Following the court’s decision on Monday (May 18, 2026), the Bhopal Police officially announced a cash reward of ₹10,000 for any information leading to his arrest.

The court earlier granted anticipatory bail to Samarth’s mother, retired judge Giribala Singh, who is also an accused in the case.

Twisha was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, just months after her December 2025 marriage to Samarth, whom she met on a dating app in 2024.

While a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probes the case, her family alleges she was systematically tortured and murdered over dowry, charges denied by Ms. Singh.

Misrod Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rajneesh Kashyap, who is heading the SIT, said efforts were underway to trace Samarth.

During the tense courtroom hearing, Samarth’s counsel opposed arrest by raising questions about Twisha’s mental health, a statement that was strongly countered by the deceased woman’s family lawyer.

He cited severe risks of evidence tampering.

After hearing arguments, Sessions Court Judge Pallavi Dwivedi turned down the pre-arrest bail application of Samarth.

While the court had previously granted anticipatory bail to Twisha’s mother-in-law, Ms. Singh, it flatly denied similar relief to Samarth.

Reacting to the development, the woman’s grief-stricken father, Navnidhi Sharma, told PTI Videos that the rejection was only a partial step towards justice and the actual victory would only come when both are punished, demanding the immediate arrest of both the husband and the retired judge.

“Rejection of the anticipatory bail plea was not our victory. Our victory will be when both are punished,” he said.

He expressed deep fears that the influential family would use money and power to secure relief from the Madhya Pradesh High Court if they were not locked up immediately.

The legal battle intensified on Monday (May 18, 2026) as the contents of Samarth’s bail plea surfaced on social media, claiming Twisha was a psychiatric patient and drug addict whose hands and feet would tremble without access to narcotics.

To counter the dowry allegations, the retired judge attached online transaction slips ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹50,000, claiming they regularly provided for Twisha’s needs.

However, Twisha’s family has fiercely rubbished these allegations, presenting a different timeline of events and describing Twisha as a jolly and happening girl who drastically changed after marriage, losing 15 kilograms due to relentless mental torture.

Her cousin, Meenakshi, spoke to various media houses alleging that the harassment peaked when Twisha lost her work-from-home job and became pregnant, and her husband refused to acknowledge the child.

The local investigation has already come under severe scrutiny as ACP Kashyap confirmed that while the preliminary AIIMS Bhopal post-mortem points to a “hanging suicide, the family claims multiple injury marks on her body indicate murder”.

In an admission of a lapse in the local probe, Kashyap confirmed that the investigation officer failed to send the rope allegedly used in the hanging to AIIMS during the autopsy and said that action would be taken against the erring officer.

He made it clear that the SIT is strictly probing the case based on the dowry and abetment sections in the FIR, regardless of the husband’s claims.

“In the bail petition, allegations regarding Twisha being a drug addict have been mentioned, but we are strictly investigating the case according to the sections mentioned in the FIR,” Kashyap told PTI.

The plea also claimed she had been undergoing psychiatric treatment and mental health counselling.

Addressing a press conference after the court ruling, Ms. Singh claimed Twisha suffered from psychological illness and depression.

She said Twisha’s death was like a “nightmare” for the family as she was part of it.

The retired judge alleged Twisha’s family pushed her into the glamour world at a very young age and claimed she remained under mental pressure because of it.

Ms. Singh also claimed Twisha’s family did not visit her in the last five months and were now not allowing her last rites to be performed.

She expressed full faith in the ongoing police probe and the judiciary.

The bail plea also claimed Twisha travelled to Delhi by flight on April 17 and remained untraceable for around 12 hours before reaching her parents’ house the next day.

It further alleged her behaviour towards her in-laws changed after she became pregnant and claimed her husband had taken her to a beauty salon on the day of the incident.

According to the plea, Twisha had also suffered a miscarriage.

However, Twisha’s family described her as a cheerful and lively woman whose behaviour changed after marriage.

Officials said the SIT would investigate allegations related to dowry harassment, physical assault and alleged attempts to destroy evidence after her death.

On Sunday (May 17, 2026), Twisha’s family staged a major protest outside Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s residence in Bhopal.

Pointing out that Twisha’s body has been kept in a Bhopal mortuary for five days, her father demanded that the compromised local probe be halted and a fresh, independent post-mortem be conducted at AIIMS Delhi.

Published – May 19, 2026 09:29 am IST