Twisha Sharma Death Case: MP High Court Grants CBI A Week's Time To Respond To Giribala Singh's Bail Plea

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday deferred the bail plea filed by retired district judge Giribala Singh, an accused in the death of her daughter-in-law, model-actor Twisha Sharma, granting the Central Bureau of Investigation a week's time to respond.

A single bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari heard preliminary submissions before posting the matter for hearing after a week, meaning Singh will remain in judicial custody until then.

Senior advocate Surendra Singh, appearing for Giribala Singh, sought her release citing her age and health condition. "There is no material on record to establish that she committed any act making her liable for the alleged offence," the defence argued, adding that nothing suggested she had instigated or abetted Twisha to die by suicide. Her counsel assured the court she would cooperate with the investigation and comply with any conditions imposed if granted bail.

The CBI, which took over the probe after the Supreme Court's suo motu intervention, sought time to respond, telling the court it intended to place the case diary before the bench. The agency has already filed its written objection. Advocate Anurag Panday, representing Twisha's family, said the court would take up the plea only after examining the CBI's submissions.

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.

The matter will be heard next week.

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

Date of Hearing: September 15, 2026

Bench: Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari