The Bombay High Court on Friday overturned a special court’s decision that would have allowed Indrani Mukerjea, the former media executive accused of murdering her daughter Sheena Bora, to travel to Europe. Justice Shyam Chandak ruled in favor of a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which argued against Mukerjea’s overseas travel due to the gravity of her charges and the risk of her fleeing the country.
The High Court’s decision nullifies the July 19 ruling by the special CBI court, which had permitted Mukerjea a ten-day visit to Spain and the UK. This travel was purportedly for handling bank-related formalities and other tasks following her divorce from media tycoon Peter Mukerjea. However, Justice Chandak offered an alternative, suggesting that Mukerjea could complete these tasks within India with assistance from relevant authorities.
While setting aside the special court’s order, the High Court refrained from commenting on the merits of the ongoing murder trial but emphasized that the permission granted by the lower court was not reasonable under the circumstances. The conditions initially set by the special court for Mukerjea’s travel included mandatory visits to Indian diplomatic missions abroad to confirm her presence and a security deposit of Rs 2 lakh.
Indrani Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 after details emerged about Sheena Bora’s murder, revealing a chilling plot involving Mukerjea, her former driver Shyamvar Rai, and her previous husband Sanjeev Khanna. According to the prosecution, Bora was strangled in a car in Mumbai in April 2012, and her body was subsequently disposed of in a neighboring district.
