Sheena Bora murder case: SC seeks CBI response on Indrani Mukerjea's bail plea

New Delhi, Feb 18 The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear bail plea of Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, and sought a response from the CBI.

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and P.S. Narasimha said: "Issue notice. Returnable in two weeks."

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mukerjea, submitted before the bench that his client has been in jail for more than six years and taking into account the ongoing state of affairs it is apparent that the trial will not come to an end in 10 years. "Six and a half years she has been in jail. The trial is not going to end in the next 10 years," he said.

The bench asked Rohatgi, how many witnesses are there in the case. Rohatgi responded that 185 witnesses are yet to be examined. He added that no witness has been examined in the past one and half years, and her husband is already on bail.

Rohatgi further submitted the trial court has been vacant without a presiding officer since June 2021.

He also informed the top court that his client is also not well. "My husband is on bail. This lady is not well. She is suffering," he said.

Mukherjea has been in jail since her arrest in the murder case in 2015.

Recently Mukerjea created a sensation by sending a letter to the CBI claiming that her daughter Sheena Bora was alive. The CBI has made it clear this particular angle will not be taken up, unless there is an intervention from the court.

In April 2012, a case was filed with the Mumbai Police alleging kidnapping and murder of Sheena Bora. In 2015, the CBI took up the investigation. Indira was arrested and so was her husband Peter Mukerjea, who was granted bail in March 2020.

In December last year, Indrani wrote a letter to CBI stating that she would move the special court to record the statement of an inmate who had claimed to have met Bora in Kashmir.

The court has rejected her bail on several occasions. In November last year, the Bombay High Court rejected her bail plea, noting that material in the form of circumstantial evidence strongly supported her direct involvement in the murder.

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