The Madhya Pradesh government has asked the High Court to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to retired district judge Giribala Singh, accusing her of tampering with evidence, leaking selected CCTV footage to social media, obstructing the investigation and deliberately allowing the “crime scene” in her daughter-in-law Twisha Sharma’s death case to be compromised.
In a petition filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the state alleged that the sessions court granted anticipatory bail to Giribala Singh “in a very mechanical manner without going through the prosecution evidence”, despite what it described as “crystal clear allegations” emerging from WhatsApp chats between the deceased model and actor Twisha Sharma and her parents.
“A bare reading of the WhatsApp chats would reveal the grave extent to which the deceased was continuously tortured by them,” the state said in the petition, referring to Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh — Twisha’s husband.
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One of the major allegations made by the state concerns the handling and public circulation of CCTV footage from the house where Twisha was found dead. According to the petition, police had already seized the CCTV footage from the residence on May 13 as part of the investigation.
However, the government alleged that Giribala Singh had separately retained copies of the footage and later strategically leaked “selected small clips” on social media “in a manner to tamper prosecution evidence and obstruct investigation”.
“For that, during the investigation, police authorities had seized CCTV footage of the house of the respondent on 13.05.2026, which is part of the investigation, but the respondent, who had already saved CCTV footage with herself, strategically in a manner to tamper with prosecution evidence and obstruct investigation, leaked selected small clips of CCTV footage on social media,” the plea alleged.
Escalating conflict
The petition paints a picture of escalating conflict between the accused family and investigators, alleging repeated non-cooperation by Giribala Singh despite notices issued by police.
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According to the state, the investigating officer issued notices to Giribala Singh on May 13 and May 14 directing her to cooperate in the investigation, but “she did not turn up”. Even after securing anticipatory bail, the state alleged, she continued to evade investigators.
The petition states that a notice sent through WhatsApp on May 20 seeking her appearance for questioning went unanswered despite being seen. It further alleges that when a police officer visited her residence on May 21, her domestic help informed police that she was unavailable and refused to accept the notice.
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“Thus, it is apparent that she is not cooperating in the investigation and is blatantly violating the terms and conditions of the order of grant of anticipatory bail,” the government argued, alleging that she was “deliberately avoiding interrogation and gives evasive replies”.
The state has also accused Giribala Singh of failing to promptly alert police despite being a former judicial officer with decades of experience in the criminal justice system.
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The petition notes that the police outpost at Laharpur under Katara Hills Police Station was located “only about 100 meters from her house”, yet she and her son allegedly chose to take Twisha directly to AIIMS Bhopal without first informing police.
The state argued that this decision directly resulted in “tampering with the crime scene, as well as other evidence”.
The government has further alleged that the trial court failed to appreciate the gravity of the allegations in the FIR, including claims that Twisha was subjected to dowry harassment and physical cruelty soon after her marriage on December 9, 2025.
The state also highlighted allegations that Twisha was pressured to terminate a one-month pregnancy shortly before her death. “Respondent and Samarth Singh had pressured the deceased to abort the one-month pregnancy very recently, in the first week of May, 2026,” the petition alleged.
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According to the state, Twisha spoke to her family multiple times on the day of the incident. At 9.41 pm, she allegedly called her family, during which relatives heard Samarth Singh shouting before the phone abruptly disconnected.
“Thereafter, the family tried to contact Samarth Singh and the present respondent on multiple occasions, but they did not respond,” the petition states. It added that approximately 50 minutes later, at around 10.35 pm, Giribala Singh allegedly answered a call from Twisha’s sister-in-law and informed the family that Twisha had died.
The state also relied on medical findings collected during the investigation, arguing that the evidence “clearly establishes that the deceased had injuries over other parts of her body and ligature mark over her neck”.
The case, now transferred to the CBI by the Madhya Pradesh government, has evolved into one of the most explosive investigations in the state, marked by allegations of dowry death, forensic manipulation, digital evidence leaks and influence over the investigative process.
