The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a fresh plea by Indrani Mukerjea, an accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, seeking permission to travel abroad.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh told senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Mukerjea, that she has already been asked to approach the trial court for relief.
Jethmalani argued that the court had not gone into the merits of her earlier plea and said there was urgency in the matter. The bench referred to its earlier order and noted the limited scope of that direction.
It recorded: “In view of the above, we grant liberty to the petitioner to file an application before the trial court, which, if filed, shall be decided in accordance with our order. Considering the urgency, the application may be disposed of within four weeks.”
On February 12 last year, the Supreme Court had rejected Mukerjea’s plea to travel abroad, noting there was no assurance of her return. It had also upheld a Bombay High Court order and asked the trial court to complete proceedings within a year.
The court had, however, allowed her to move the trial court for any request linked to overseas travel.
The issue of travel restrictions came up after a special court on July 19, 2024 permitted Mukerjea to visit Spain and the United Kingdom for 10 days. The Bombay High Court later overturned that order on September 27, 2024 after a CBI appeal.
Mukerjea then approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order. She has now filed a fresh application seeking permission to travel abroad.
She was arrested in August 2015 after the case came to light and was granted bail by the Supreme Court in May 2022 after spending over six years in custody.
Mukerjea has denied the allegations.
Bora, 24, was killed in April 2012 in Mumbai. According to the prosecution, she was strangled in a car by Mukerjea, her then-driver Shyamvar Rai and former husband Sanjeev Khanna, and her body was later burnt in Raigad district.
The case surfaced after Rai’s statement during interrogation in another matter under the Arms Act.
Mukerjea’s ex-husband Peter Mukerjea was also arrested for alleged involvement in the conspiracy. All accused are currently on bail.
