Supreme Court takes cognisance of Twisha Sharma death case, CJI to hear matter tomorrow

THe sublime margaret court is go down to try on mon a suo motu case concerning the unnatural death of 32-year-old actor-model Twisha Sharma at her matrimonial home in Madhya Pradesh, amid mounting allegations of institutional bias, procedural irregularities and possible lapses in the investigation.The matter has been registered as “In Re: Alleged institutional bias and procedural discrepancies in the unnatural death of a young girl at her matrimonial home” and is slated to be heard on May 25 by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi. The case has been registered “based on media reports and other attending circumstances,” a person aware of the development said.The top court’s intervention comes amid growing scrutiny over the probe into Sharma’s death at her in-laws’ residence in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, barely five months after her marriage to advocate Samarth Singh. Sharma was the daughter-in-law of retired district judge Giribala Singh. Her family has accused Singh and his mother of dowry harassment, mental and physical torture, and murder, allegations denied by the accused side, which has maintained that Sharma died by suicide.Also Read | ‘Mother-in-law questioned her character’: Twisha Sharma’s kin slams ‘depraved mentality’ in viral audio clipThe Supreme Court’s decision follows a series of developments that intensified public attention on the case, including questions over the handling of forensic evidence, CCTV footage, alleged delays in the registration of the FIR, and claims of influence being exercised in the investigation.On Wednesday, the National Commission for Women also took suo motu cognisance of the matter, describing the death as “suspicious” and seeking a detailed action taken report from local authorities.A Bhopal court on Saturday sent Samarth Singh to seven days of police custody.Singh, who was absconding for 10 days since an FIR was registered against him and his mother following Twisha’s death by hanging, surrendered before the Bhopal police on Friday. On Saturday, Singh was produced before judicial magistrate first class Anudita Gupta, who sent him in police custody for seven days and ordered the seizure of his passport.Bhopal police commissioner Sanjay Kumar Singh said: “Since the accused was brought late at night (Friday), interrogation could not begin immediately... He will be questioned about the night of the incident, family disputes, mobile chats, call records, and his activities while absconding.”Also Read | Searching for the truth in Twisha Sharma’s deathAccording to officers familiar with the matter, Twisha Sharma was scheduled to take the Bhopal–Jaipur Express at 9.52am on May 12. “She was scheduled to travel to Ajmer on May 15, where her brother, Major Harshit Sharma, is posted. We are examining why she took such an extreme step despite having travel plans.”Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government has moved the high court’s Jabalpur bench seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Giribala Singh, with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the state. The court has fixed the matter for hearing on Monday.Earlier in the day, Giribala Singh told reporters that she would be happy to record her statement, but Bhopal police had not reached out to her so far.She could not step out of her house owing to the chaotic situation outside, she said, apparently referring to the presence of media persons.On Friday, the high court had issued a notice to her on pleas seeking cancellation of her anticipatory bail, and sought her response by May 25. Two days ago, Bhopal Police had issued a third and final notice to her after she allegedly failed to appear for recording her statement.AIIMS Delhi team arrives for 2nd post-mortem examActing on a direction from 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 to conduct her second post-mortem examination.“We received the order on Saturday morning following which the AIIMS Delhi director asked me to constitute a medical board team. The team includes one female senior doctor,” said Dr Sudhir Gupta, chief of Forensic Medicine at AIIMS Delhi.General Administration department additional chief secretary Sheo Shekhar Shukla said the team has arrived Bhopal on Saturday night and they will return tomorrow after conducting post-mortem examination.(With inputs from Ridhima Gupta)