SC rejects Indrani’s travel plea over risk of absconding
A bench, led by justice MM Sundresh, hearing Mukerjea’s plea to visit Spain for executing a will, remarked: “There is no guarantee you will come back... You can complete the trial and then go.”
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request from former media executive Indrani Mukherjea to travel abroad, expressing concern that she might not return to face trial for the alleged murder of her 25-year-old daughter, Sheena Bora, in 2012. Indrani was granted bail by the top court in May 2022.
A bench, led by justice MM Sundresh, hearing Mukerjea’s plea to visit Spain for executing a will, remarked: “There is no guarantee you will come back... You can complete the trial and then go.” The court also directed that the trial be concluded within a year and allowed her to renew her application after that.
In its order, the bench, also comprising justice Rajesh Bindal, stated: “Considering the ongoing trial, we are not inclined to permit travel at this stage. Let the trial be completed within a year. Liberty is granted to the petitioner to renew the application later.”
Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 in connection with her daughter’s murder. Bora was born from Mukerjea’s first marriage and was allegedly killed in April 2012 due to her relationship with Rahul Mukerjea – the son of Mukerjea’s then husband and co-accused Peter Mukerjea from a previous marriage.
Initially investigated by Mumbai police, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in September 2015. The agency alleged that Mukerjea conspired with Peter Mukerjea and her driver, Shyamvar Rai, to kill Sheena Bora. The prosecution claimed Mukerjea opposed Bora’s relationship with Rahul Mukerjea and that Bora was blackmailing Mukerjea , threatening to expose certain financial transactions, leading to the murder.
For years, Mukerjea maintained that Bora had moved to the US. The case unravelled only after her driver Shyamvar Rai was arrested in an unrelated matter, revealing the murder plot. Police subsequently exhumed a half-burnt body in August 2015, and confirmed that it was Bora’s.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the bench questioned why Mukerjea needed to be physically present to execute the will when she had given someone power of attorney . Advocate Sana Raees Khan, representing Mukerjea, argued that her biometrics needed to be registered.
Mukerjea’s petition highlighted delays in the trial, stating that 92 witnesses remain to be examined. When she was granted bail, CBI agreed to drop 50% of witnesses; at the time 68 had testified. “In the last three years, only 19 (more) witnesses have been examined,” argued Khan, citing the trial judge’s unavailability for over four months.
The case has 237 witnesses in total. Mukerjea spent more than six years in custody before being granted bail , a key factor in the top court’s decision in 2022. Peter Mukerjea was released on bail in February 2020.
Before approaching the Supreme Court, Mukerjea sought permission from the Bombay high court, which rejected her travel request in September last year. She then filed an appeal in the apex court.
