The Supreme Court of India on Monday sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation regarding a plea filed by former media executive Indrani Mukerjea.
Mukerjea is challenging a Bombay High Court ruling that denied her permission to travel abroad, despite being accused of the 2012 murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora.
The matter reached the Supreme Court after a special court, on July 19, had granted Mukerjea permission to visit Spain and the United Kingdom for 10 days over the next three months. However, the CBI contested this decision in the Bombay High Court, which subsequently quashed the special court’s order on September 27.
Mukerjea then moved the apex court to challenge the high court’s ruling.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar issued a notice to the CBI and sought its response on Mukerjea’s appeal. In her plea, Mukerjea, represented by advocate Sana Raees Khan, stated that she was a British citizen and needed to travel to Spain and the UK to handle personal and business matters that required her physical presence.
She argued that a digital certificate activation was necessary to complete relevant work and administrative tasks in Spain, making her travel essential.
Previously, Bombay High Court rejected Mukerjea’s request, noting that she sought permission to travel based on her British nationality and the need to handle personal matters, including executing documents related to her bank account.
The high court ruled that such tasks could be carried out in India with the assistance of the Spanish and UK embassies, thus negating the necessity for her to travel abroad.
Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 in connection with the murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora, who was allegedly strangled to death in a car by Mukerjea, her driver Shyamvar Rai, and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna. The murder took place in April 2012, and Bora’s body was later burned in a forest in Raigad district, Maharashtra.
The crime was uncovered in 2015 when Rai, while being interrogated in a separate case, revealed details about the murder.
Mukerjea’s ex-husband, Peter Mukerjea, was also arrested for allegedly being involved in the conspiracy behind the murder. All accused, including Mukerjea, are currently out on bail. Mukerjea has consistently denied the allegations against her.
CBI continues to investigate the case, which remains a high-profile legal matter in India.
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