The Supreme Court stays Twisha Sharma death trial in Bhopal and issues notice on her father’s plea to move the case to a court in Delhi.
New Delhi: On Friday, the Supreme Court stayed the trial proceedings before the Bhopal Sessions Court in the Twisha Sharma death case and issued notice on a petition filed by her father, Navnidhi Sharma, seeking transfer of the trial to Delhi. Notice has gone to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and to the two accused, her husband Samarth Singh and mother-in-law Giribala Singh, a former district judge [Navnidhi Sharma v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Others].
The order was passed by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The names of the other judges on the Bench, the returnable date of the notice and the detailed terms of the order were not available at the time of writing.
How the case reached here
Twisha Sharma, 33, was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12, 2026, about five months after her marriage to Samarth Singh, a Bhopal advocate, on December 9, 2025. Her family alleged dowry harassment and cruelty. The Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered a second post-mortem by a team of doctors from AIIMS New Delhi, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the case on May 25, and the High Court later cancelled the anticipatory bail that a trial court had granted to Giribala Singh. The CBI took over the probe and arrested both accused.
On August 17, the CBI filed a chargesheet of about 1,000 pages, based on roughly 150 witness statements, before the court in Bhopal. It invokes Sections 80(2) (dowry death), 85 (cruelty), 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. In later bail proceedings before the High Court, it emerged that the charge against Giribala Singh rests on Section 108 BNS rather than the dowry death provision. Both accused deny the allegations.
What the transfer petition says
The petition seeks transfer of Sessions Trial No. 584 of 2026 (CBI v. Giribala Singh and Another) from Bhopal to a competent court in Delhi, with a separate application to stay the Bhopal proceedings until the transfer plea is decided. It questions whether a fair trial is possible in Madhya Pradesh, pointing to Giribala Singh‘s past senior judicial role in Bhopal and her position as President of the Bhopal District Consumer Commission at the time of the death.
The petition also refers to the handling of the early bail proceedings, in which several judges returned the file or recused, and raises concerns about the initial local investigation. In support of Delhi as the venue, it points out that the CBI is investigating from the national capital, the second post-mortem was done by an AIIMS New Delhi board, forensic reports came from CFSL Delhi, and the investigating officer and several witnesses are in the National Capital Region. These are the petitioner’s contentions; the CBI and the accused are yet to reply.
The legal position
Section 446 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaces Section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, empowers the Supreme Court to transfer a criminal case from a court under one High Court to a court under another where it is expedient for the ends of justice. The Supreme Court has long held, including in Maneka Sanjay Gandhi v. Rani Jethmalani (1979), that such transfers are exceptional and turn on a reasonable apprehension that a fair trial may not be possible, not on mere convenience or allegations alone.
What happens next
With the stay in place, the Bhopal Sessions Court will not proceed with the trial until the Supreme Court decides the transfer petition after hearing the CBI and the accused. The allegations against Samarth Singh and Giribala Singh are untested at trial, the Supreme Court has expressed no view on the merits, and both are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Case Title: Navnidhi Sharma v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Others (transfer petition; case number not available)
Bench: Bench led by CJI Surya Kant, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: October 16, 2026
Appearances: Not available
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