New Delhi: The agency investigating the case has now taken a side on where it should be heard.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on October 29, the CBI has said there is every likelihood that the two accused in the Twisha Sharma death case will influence the trial and intimidate witnesses if proceedings stay in Bhopal. The agency has effectively backed the plea of Twisha's father, Navnidhi Sharma, to shift the trial out of Madhya Pradesh, preferably to Delhi.
"The gravity and seriousness of the present case is reflected from allegations that after the incident, Giribala Singh tried to manage the crime scene and tried to tamper with evidence," the CBI stated in the affidavit. It added that there were "a series of incidents which clearly reflect her unwarranted interference in the investigation conducted by the state police".
Giribala Singh is a retired Principal District and Sessions Judge of Bhopal, and was president of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission there when the incident took place. Her son Samarth Singh, Twisha's husband, is a practising advocate in Bhopal. Both are the main accused.
The CBI's affidavit cites two instances to make its point. It says Giribala Singh called a technician and obtained copies of CCTV footage relating to the relevant period. It also says that on May 13 she contacted the owner of a beauty parlour to ask about Twisha's visit on May 12, and sent people to collect that footage.
Twisha, 33, a former Miss Pune from Noida, married Samarth Singh in December 2025. She was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal's Katara Hills on the night of May 12, 2026, and was declared brought dead at AIIMS, Bhopal.
An FIR was registered three days later against Giribala Singh and her son. Within a week, on May 22, the Madhya Pradesh government asked for a CBI probe. The agency took over the case soon after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of it.
The CBI filed its chargesheet on August 17 against Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh under Sections 85 (cruelty), 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Dowry-related sections invoked in the FIR were dropped in the chargesheet, though the affidavit says further investigation is continuing into the dowry death allegations and other aspects.
The Supreme Court has stayed proceedings before the Bhopal sessions court until further orders. The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana adjourned the transfer petition by a week on Monday after counsel for the respondents sought time.
The CBI has not formally asked for the transfer itself. It has urged the court to pass whatever order it considers appropriate in the interest of justice.