Key Points
- Arrest Made: Bhopal Police apprehended lawyer Samarth Singh at the Jabalpur District Court premises, ending his 10-day run as an absconder.
- Courtroom Drama: The victim’s counsel alleged that Singh wore a mask and changed clothes inside a closed courtroom to hide his identity and evade localised recognition.
- Judicial Order: The Madhya Pradesh High Court permitted a crucial second postmortem of Twisha Sharma to be conducted at AIIMS Bhopal by a flying squad of medical experts from AIIMS Delhi.
- Bail Escalation: State prosecutors officially challenged the pre-arrest bail of Singh’s mother, a retired district judge, referring her case to a high court Division Bench for review.
High drama unfolded within the Jabalpur District Court premises on Friday as Bhopal Police apprehended defence lawyer Samarth Singh, the primary suspect in the dowry harassment and suspicious death of his wife, former model and actor Twisha Sharma. Singh, who carried a ₹30,000 bounty on his head, had successfully evaded law enforcement for 10 days.
The arrest took place shortly after Singh withdrew his anticipatory bail application from a single-bench High Court panel led by Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh, leaving him with no choice but to face detention. However, rather than presenting himself to the active Special Investigation Team (SIT) or the jurisdiction court in Bhopal, Singh arrived at the Jabalpur District Court to force a local surrender, sparking chaos and sharp condemnation from the victim’s legal representatives.
Identity Concealment Allegations and Systemic Help
The arrest was marred by allegations of collusion and preferential treatment, given that Singh is a practising attorney and the son of retired District and Sessions Judge Giribala Singh.
Anurag Srivastava, the chief counsel representing Twisha’s father, Navnidhi Sharma, launched severe objections after discovering Singh inside the secure confines of Courtroom No. 32, the official chambers of the District and Sessions Judge. Srivastava alleged that Singh sat inside the darkened courtroom with the lights turned off, wearing a medical mask to conceal his identity while associates helped him change his clothing to blend into the crowd.
“Look at how the son of a retired judge is being protected by the system,” advocate Anurag Srivastava stated during the courthouse commotion. “He has absolutely no authority to surrender in the District Court of Jabalpur; the trial court is in Bhopal. He was sitting inside the judge’s courtroom while the judge was not on the dais. As soon as he saw me, he fled into the hallway where his lawyers physically pushed me away.”
Despite the frantic evasion tactics, a deployed police contingent operating under Jabalpur Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhyay intercepted Singh on the premises. He was immediately taken into custody and placed in a secure transport bound for Bhopal investigators.
High Court Overrules Lower Bench, Orders Rare Second Autopsy
Simultaneously, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued a monumental directive on Friday, clearing a petition filed by Twisha’s family for a second postmortem examination. The order completely bypasses an earlier ruling by a Bhopal lower court, which had dismissed the family’s plea by stating minor procedural infractions did not warrant a re-examination.
The High Court acknowledged the family’s deep concerns regarding forensic discrepancies and ordered the Director of AIIMS Delhi to form an elite committee of independent medical experts. This medical team will fly from Delhi to Bhopal to conduct the second autopsy directly at the AIIMS Bhopal facility, where Twisha’s body remains preserved at sub-zero temperatures. To ensure absolute transparency, the high court mandated that the entire secondary procedure must be videographed.
State Fights to Cancel Former Judge’s Bail
The legal net is also tightening around Singh’s mother, Giribala Singh, who currently serves as the head of the Bhopal Consumer Court. Though she was granted pre-arrest bail by a lower sessions court last week, the Madhya Pradesh state government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, has aggressively moved to revoke her freedom.
During a tense Friday afternoon session before Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh, state prosecutors argued that her background as a retired judge positioned her to heavily influence local witnesses and stall the active investigation. Recognising the institutional gravity of the matter, the court formally referred the state’s cancellation petition to a larger Division Bench, setting the next decisive hearing for Monday, May 25.
