The Supreme Court on Monday is set to hear a suo motu case over the unnatural death of 32-year-old model-actress Twisha Sharma at her marital home in Madhya Pradesh, amid mounting allegations of institutional bias, procedural irregularities and possible lapses in the investigation.
The case has been registered under the title “In re: Alleged institutional bias and procedural discrepancies in the unnatural death of a young girl in the matrimonial home” and is scheduled to be heard on May 25 by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi. A person familiar with the developments said that the case had been registered “based on media reports and other circumstances.”
The Supreme Court’s intervention comes amid growing scrutiny over the investigation into Sharma’s death at her in-laws’ home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, just five months after she married lawyer Samarth Singh. Sharma was the daughter-in-law of retired district judge Giripala Singh. Her family accused Singh and his mother of dowry harassment, psychological and physical torture, and murder, allegations that the accused denied, and confirmed that Sharma died by suicide.
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The Supreme Court’s decision comes in the wake of a series of developments that have intensified public interest in the case, including questions over the handling of forensic evidence, CCTV footage, alleged delay in registering an FIR, and allegations of influence being exercised in the investigation.
On Wednesday, the National Commission for Women took suo motu cognizance of the matter, describing the death as “suspicious” and requesting a detailed report on the actions taken from local authorities.
A Bhopal court on Saturday sentenced Samarth Singh to seven days in police custody.
Singh, who has been on the run for 10 days since an FIR was registered against him and his mother after Toysha’s death by hanging, surrendered before the Bhopal police on Friday. On Saturday, Singh appeared before Judicial Magistrate First Class Anodita Gupta, who sent him to police custody for seven days and ordered the confiscation of his passport.
Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Singh said: “Since the accused was brought late at night (Friday), interrogation cannot begin immediately… He will be questioned about the night of the incident, family disputes, mobile phone conversations, call logs and his activities while he was on the run.”
Read also | Searching for the truth in Twisha Sharma’s death
According to officers familiar with the matter, Twisha Sharma was scheduled to board the Bhopal-Jaipur Express train at 9.52 am on May 12. “She was scheduled to travel to Ajmer on May 15, where her brother Major Harshit Sharma is stationed. We are examining why she took this extreme step even though she had plans to travel.”
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government has moved the Jabalpur High Court bench seeking quashing of anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh, with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing on behalf of the state. The court scheduled the case for hearing on Monday.
Earlier in the day, Giribala Singh told reporters that she would be happy to record her statement, but the Bhopal police have not contacted her so far.
She added that she was unable to leave her home due to the chaos prevailing outside, in apparent reference to the presence of media personnel.
On Friday, the High Court issued notice to her on petitions seeking cancellation of her anticipatory bail and sought her reply by May 25. Two days ago, the Bhopal police issued a third and final notice to her after she allegedly failed to turn up to record her statement.
AIIMS Delhi team arrives for second post mortem examination
On the directions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the Twisha Sharma death case, AIIMS Delhi on Saturday constituted a medical board comprising four senior doctors, who arrived in Bhopal this evening on a chartered flight for its second post-mortem examination.
“We received the order on Saturday morning, after which the director of AIIMS Delhi asked me to form a medical board team. The team includes a senior woman doctor,” said Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of the forensic department at AIIMS Delhi.
Additional Chief Secretary, General Administration Department, Shew Shekhar Shukla, said that the team reached Bhopal on Saturday evening and will return tomorrow after conducting the post-mortem examination.
(With inputs from Riddhima Gupta)
