Media drew both praise and criticism in Supreme Court Twisha Sharma case hearing
The Twisha Sharma case hearing in the Supreme Court saw the media receiving praise and also being cautioned over its coverage of the developments surrounding the 33-year-old's death.
While Solicitor General Tushar Mehta hailed the media, CJI Surya Kant expressed reservations over the statements of potential witnesses and accused being publicly highlighted. Twisha Sharma death case news: The Twisha Sharma case hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday saw the media receiving praise as well as being cautioned over its coverage of the developments surrounding the 33-year-old woman’s death.
While Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed “pain” over the media recording the statements of Twisha’s family members and that of her mother-in-law and husband, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing the Madhya Pradesh government, hailed the role of the press in highlighting the incident.
“ It’s not a subject matter that can be sensationalised. At the same time, it’s because of this media intervention that several things have taken place,” said SG Mehta.
In a reasoned response, the CJI said, “Undoubtedly, they helped a lot… Our only concern is statements…because that creates a problem,” adding, “It’s only because of the highlighting that after all, it came to our notice also only because of them.”
Twisha Sharma was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12, 2026, just six months after her marriage to advocate Samarth Singh.
At the beginning of the half-hour-long hearing, the CJI requested the media not to record or publish statements of either of the families.
“…we will continue to request them that don’t go for the statements of the victim’s family or the other family. Let the things move in the as per the law and procedure, the authority, the investigating agency, they will follow. Because otherwise statements are being recorded. And one section has started saying, because I think the mother-in-law happens to be a former district judge. It’s quite unfortunate that they started saying that the judiciary is not permitting to have a fair trial,” he said.
CJI Kant noted that both families were “unnecessarily going to the media”.
“This is our request to you. Whatever statement you want to record, please make with the prescribed authority that is the investigating agency. Of course, we can’t do anything, but we can only request media also, please don’t go for reporting statements of the victim’s family for reducing their pain into sound bytes,” he stated.
Avoid recording statements: Supreme Court to media
While dictating the order, the bench said, “We would like to impress upon the family members of the victim, as well as the accused person(s), that instead of making statements in public or before media platforms, they should get their version recorded before the investigating agency so that no prejudice or adverse impact is caused to the ongoing investigation.”
The 4-page Supreme Court order added, “As already observed earlier, we also request the media to avoid recording statements of the persons who are likely to be potential witnesses or accused, as it may unnecessarily prejudge the outcome on certain issues, which are yet to be investigated. We will also request the general public to refrain from speculation and have trust and faith in one of the premier investigating agencies, which, we are sure, in due course of time will take the investigation to a logical conclusion.”
SG Mehta urged the bench to add in the order that even those who are “potential accused” should not give statements to the media.
Twisha Sharma’s unnatural death
Found dead under unusual circumstances at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12, 2026 — just six months after her marriage to advocate Samarth Singh — Twisha Sharma’s case has quickly escalated beyond a tragic domestic incident into a high-profile investigation, and is now being heard as a suo motu case before the Supreme Court.
Twisha Sharma’s family has alleged that the local police botched early evidence collection, tampered with CCTV footage, and protected the accused because her husband Samarth Singh’s mother Giribala Singh is a retired district and sessions judge.
The ensuing public outcry and political pressure have forced swift, extraordinary interventions: the case has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a second autopsy has been ordered via a medical team flown in from AIIMS Delhi, even as the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of potential institutional bias.
An FIR was registered at the Katara Hills Police Station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for matrimonial cruelty, domestic violence, and dowry death. Following the registration, Twisha Sharma’s husband, Samarth, went into hiding. Police initially announced a Rs 10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, which was later escalated to Rs 30,000. Conversely, his mother, retired judge Giribala Singh, secured an anticipatory bail.
The Supreme Court took cognisance of Twisha Sharma’s death on May 23 and scheduled the hearing today.
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