Twisha Sharma Death Case: MP High Court Allows Giribala Singh To Amend Bail Plea After CBI Drops Dowry Death Charge

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday pointed to a procedural gap in the bail plea of Giribala Singh, who is facing prosecution for allegedly abetting the suicide of her daughter-in-law, model-actor Twisha Sharma, noting that the application had not been amended even after the CBI changed the charges in the case.

Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari observed that the bail application was filed before the charge sheet came to be filed and was never updated to reflect the altered charges. The court noted that the CBI had dropped Section 80(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (Section 304B IPC), which deals with dowry death, and had added Section 108 (Section 306 IPC), which deals with abetment of suicide, yet the applicant had not raised any ground in respect of Section 108 (Section 306 IPC).

Appearing for the applicant, Advocate Surendra Singh submitted that the only charge left against her is that of abetment. It was also pointed out that the matter has already run for five months and that the CBI has given a detailed account of the incidents in question.

The court, however, focused on the fact that the bail plea did not reflect the changed charges. Since the application was moved before the charge sheet was filed and had not been amended, the applicant had not addressed the case as it now stands, with Section 108 (Section 306 IPC) in place of Section 80(2) (Section 304B IPC).

The court allowed the applicant to file an application for amendment of the bail plea. This was made subject to a copy being supplied to the opposing counsel.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 8 at 2:30 pm.

Background

Twisha Sharma was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal's Katara Hills area on May 12, barely five months after her wedding to advocate Samarth Singh, Giribala's son. Her family alleged foul play, with her brother, Major Harshit Sharma of the Indian Army, claiming she had faced continuous harassment over a dowry demand of roughly two lakh rupees and restrictions on her access to money. An FIR naming Samarth and Giribala Singh followed two days later; Samarth was arrested in Jabalpur on May 22 after evading arrest for ten days.

The Supreme Court subsequently took suo motu cognisance, citing concern that a judicial officer's alleged involvement could dent public confidence in the justice system, and transferred the probe to the CBI. Both have been in custody since June 2, facing dowry death charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. In August, the CBI filed a 636-page charge sheet against them.

Singh's plea before the High Court comes after a special CBI court in Bhopal rejected her regular bail application last month, accepting that the probe was at a sensitive stage and her release could compromise it. That court noted her decades as a District and Sessions Judge gave her institutional influence that made witness or evidence interference a real, not remote, possibility. Opposing bail, the CBI had alleged she tried to influence the probe by reaching out to a CCTV technician and a salon operator, and by sending a representative to procure CCTV footage, while flagging her refusal to give a voice sample, citing call records, WhatsApp chats and witness statements already gathered.

Before the special court, the defence had also argued bail on humanitarian grounds, citing Singh's health in custody, the need to care for her nearly hundred-year-old mother, and rituals connected with Twisha's death. It was argued that Singh, drawing a regular pension along with a war widow's pension, was financially secure, making a dowry demand improbable. The court held none of these grounds outweighed the seriousness of the allegations.

Case Title: Smt. Giribala Singh v. The State of Madhya Pradesh

Date of Hearing: September 30, 2026

Bench: Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari