Court Delays Decision Allowing Indrani Mukerjea To Travel Abroad

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Monday prolonged for two weeks a temporary cessation on a unique court directive that had permitted former media executive Indrani Mukerjea, the primary defendant in the Sheena Bora assassination case, to travel overseas.

The high court last week granted a temporary cessation on the lower court’s directive after it was disputed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A solitary bench of Justice S C Chandak on Monday deferred the plea for two weeks and extended the temporary cessation until then.

The extraordinary CBI tribunal on July 19 allowed Mukerjea, who is out on bail, to travel once to Europe (Spain and United Kingdom) for ten days between intermittent period during the next three months.

CBI’s attorney Shriram Shirsat had argued that it would not be appropriate to allow Mukerjea to depart the country (for travel) considering she is the primary defendant under trial.

The extraordinary court had directed Mukerjea to attend the office of the Indian Embassy or its allied diplomatic mission offices while traveling (in Spain and the UK) and obtain an attendance certification and to provide a security deposit of Rs 2 lakh.

Mukerjea had filed an application last month seeking the extraordinary court’s approval claiming she needs to travel to Europe frequently for work.

Mukerjea is being prosecuted for alleged assassination of her 24-year-old daughter Sheena Bora in 2012, leading to her arrest in August 2015 and incarceration. She was released from the prison in May 2022 after securing bail from the Supreme Court.

Bora, the daughter of Mukerjea born out of a preceding relationship, was allegedly strangled to death in a moving car by the primary defendant, her driver Shyamvar Rai, and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna in Mumbai. The body was allegedly incinerated in a forest in the neighboring Raigad district, as per the prosecution.

The crime came to light only in 2015 when Rai revealed information about the crime during interrogation after police apprehended him in an Arms Act case.

Former media magnate Peter Mukerjea, ex-husband of Indrani Mukerjea, was also detained for allegedly being a part of the conspiracy linked to the assassination.

All the accused are currently out on bail.