Mukerjea is asking again to be allowed to go abroad, and in doing so has brought the Sheena Bora murder case back into the news as the trial continues. She’s currently on bail and the Mumbai special CBI court has begun hearing her request, with a decision expected to come within the four weeks the Supreme Court said they should take.
Why the fresh plea matters
Mukerjea, who used to be a media executive and is a main suspect in the 2012 murder of her daughter, wants to go to countries outside of India during the course of the case. This request is important as the court has said no before, and a yes vote now would show a change from the court’s prior hesitance to allow someone to travel to another country.
Mumbai has been closely following this case. With all the people accused now out on bail and the trial going on, how the court rules on international travel will be seen as a sign of how firmly bail-related movement will be controlled in major criminal cases.
What the court heard and what is next
On Tuesday, Judge J P Darekar of the Special CBI Court heard some of the arguments for Mukerjea’s request. The hearing will continue on May re.
This hearing happened because of an order from the Supreme Court last month. The Supreme Court refused to hear Mukerjea’s request to travel abroad and told her to ask the trial court, and to have the trial court make a decision within four weeks.
Here are the key directions shaping the next steps:
– Supreme Court asked the trial court to decide within four weeks
– The next hearing is scheduled for May 6th
– The latest plea seeks court nod to travel abroad
Previous attempts to travel overseas
On February 12th of last year, the Supreme Court turned down her request to go to Spain and the UK to deal with unfinished business at the bank, saying they weren’t certain she’d come back.
At that time, the Supreme Court supported the Bombay High Court’s decision to deny her travel and told the trial court to speed up the trial. Last month, the Supreme Court again said it wouldn’t hear her travel request itself, repeating that she should get a ruling from the trial court.
Case background and bail status
Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 after the murder supposedly happened. In May 2022, the Supreme Court gave her bail and currently, everyone accused in the case is on bail.
Prosecutors say Bora was strangled to death in a car in April 2012 in Mumbai, supposedly by Mukerjea, her driver Shyamvar Rai and Mukerjea’s then-husband Sanjeev Khanna. Her body was burned in a forest in Raigad, which is next to Mumbai. Bora was Mukerjea’s daughter from a past relationship.
The case became public in 2015 when Rai, during police questioning after being arrested for a different crime (having a weapon illegally), apparently told them about the murder. Peter Mukerjea, her former husband and a former head of a media company, was also arrested for allegedly taking part in the conspiracy that the CBI is investigating.
What to watch
The trial court has to decide if Mukerjea can travel, remembering previous decisions that suggested she might run away. To allow her to go would be different from past court decisions.
If the court says no, that would be the same as the Supreme Court said previously and would mean very strong limits on going abroad during the trial.
