In a significant development in the dowry death case involving Twisha Sharma, a Bhopal court has rejected the bail application of Giribala Singh, a retired judge accused in the case. The decision was handed down by Additional Sessions Judge Ram Pratap Mishra on Saturday. This ruling follows a series of recusals by various judges who had previously declined to hear Singh’s bail plea.
The case revolves around the tragic death of Twisha Sharma, a model-turned-actor based in Pune, who was found dead in her matrimonial home just five months after marrying Samarth Singh, a Bhopal-based lawyer. The couple had met through a dating app. On May 12, Sharma was discovered hanging at her home, sparking allegations from her family that she was subjected to ongoing domestic violence and dowry harassment by her husband and in-laws.
These allegations led to the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) at Katara Hills police station. The charges were framed under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Dowry Prohibition Act. Initially, Giribala Singh, who once served as the President of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Madhya Pradesh, secured anticipatory bail from a sessions court. However, this relief was later overturned by the Madhya Pradesh High Court after appeals from the state government and the victim’s family.
The High Court’s intervention did not stop there. It also ordered a second post-mortem of Sharma’s body, to be conducted by a team from AIIMS Delhi, after the family requested a new examination to clarify the cause of death. Subsequently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested both Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh. Following their CBI custody, a Bhopal court remanded them to judicial custody on June 2.
