The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday asked Twisha Sharma's mother-in-law and former district judge Giribala Singh to respond to petitions challenging the anticipatory bail granted to her in the dowry death case of her daughter-in-law.
Twisha Sharma's father, Navnidhi Sharma, as well as the State of Madhya Pradesh challenged the May 15 order of a Bhopal court which protected Singh from arrest while considering her age of 63 years and her position as a former judge. The sessions court had also noted that the allegations mainly pertained to Twisha Sharma's husband, Samarth Singh.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the State, submitted that there was an urgency in the matter due to a concern of tampering with evidence.
Though he did not press for any interim order today, he sought a hearing next week.
"The bail was granted in a day with undue haste without looking at anything. The court had made no findings," Mehta said.
Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh then listed the matter for hearing on May 25 at 2:30 PM.
Meanwhile, Samarth Singh today withdrew his bail plea from the High Court, which said the he can surrender either before the investigating officer or the trial court.
The High Court has also ordered a second post-mortem of Twisha to be conducted by a team of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
Noida-based Twisha Sharma had married Samarth Singh, a Bhopal-based lawyer, five months ago after meeting through a dating app.
Sharma's family has blamed her in-laws for the death, accusing them of persistent domestic violence and harassment. They have demanded a second post-mortem to ascertain the actual cause of Sharma's death.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered by Katara Hills police station to probe the death. Sharma's husband and mother-in-law Giribala Singh have been booked for dowry harassment in the case.
Giribala Singh has come under severe criticism for speaking against her deceased daughter-in-law in various media interviews since grant of anticipatory bail to her.