Sheena Bora murder case: SC refuses to entertain Indrani Mukerjea’s fresh plea to travel abroad
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a fresh plea filed by Indrani Mukerjea, accused of killing her daughter Sheena Bora, seeking to travel abroad.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh told senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Mukerjea, that the apex court has already asked her to move the trial court, where proceedings against her are pending, for any relief.
Jethmalani said that last year, the top court had not decided her plea to travel abroad on merit, but there is some urgency now.
The bench said that last year’s order was intended only to enable the petitioner to file an application before the trial court, and not before the apex court.
It ordered, “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 top court dismissed a plea by Mukerjea, a former media executive, to travel abroad, observing that there was no guarantee that she would come back.
It directed the trial court to conduct the proceedings in the case within a year and upheld a Bombay High Court order refusing her plea.
Noting that the trial against her was at an advanced stage, the top court had directed the lower court to expedite the hearing and conclude it within a year.
The apex court had given liberty to Mukerjea to approach the trial court for any relief concerning overseas travel.
The travel restriction came before the Supreme Court last year after a special court on July 19, 2024, allowed Mukerjea's plea to visit Spain and the United Kingdom for 10 days.
The Bombay High Court, however, intervened in the matter and set aside the order on September 27, 2024, after the CBI filed an appeal.
Mukerjea had then moved the apex court challenging the high court order.
This year, she has filed a fresh plea seeking permission to travel abroad.
Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 after the murder of Bora came to light. The Supreme Court granted her bail in May 2022 after she spent more than six years in custody.
Mukerjea has denied the allegations.
Bora, 24, was strangled to death in a car in Mumbai in April 2012, allegedly by Mukerjea, her then-driver Shyamvar Rai and former husband Sanjeev Khanna. Her mortal remains were then burnt in a forest in the neighbouring Raigad district, according to the prosecution.
Bora was Mukerjea's daughter from her previous relationship.
The killing came to light when Rai reportedly spilt the beans during his interrogation by police after his arrest in a separate case under the Arms Act.
Mukerjea's ex-husband, Peter Mukerjea, was also arrested for allegedly being a part of the conspiracy linked to the murder, probed by the CBI.
All the accused are currently on bail.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Anga, Banga, Kalinga' will have BJP govts next month: Shah
Kolkata (PTI): Asserting that people voted with enthusiasm for a change in the first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said 'Anga, Banga and Kalinga', the ancient kingdoms that ruled present-day eastern India, will have BJP governments next month.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said the BJP will bag more than 110 of the 152 seats that went to the polls in the first phase on Thursday.
"People of Bengal broke all records in the first phase and voted with enthusiasm for a change," he said, referring to the over 92 per cent turnout.
"I thank the Election Commission and security forces for ensuring no deaths during the first phase polls," he said, noting that 1,278 people were injured in the 2016 assembly elections, and 1,681 in 2021.
Claiming that the TMC's exit is imminent, Shah said the BJP will form a government in the state with an absolute majority.
"I see a tsunami this time, I feel the number of seats and margin of win will be much higher," he said.
"We will have governments in 'Anga, Banga and Kalinga' after May 5," he said, referring to the ancient kingdoms that once ruled the region.
Having come to power in Odisha in 2024, the BJP is now seeking a third consecutive term in Assam and aiming to unseat the 15-year-old TMC government in West Bengal. The party's first chief minister in Bihar, Samrat Choudhary, won a floor test in the assembly earlier in the day.
Assam voted for its 126-member assembly on April 9, while Bengal will vote for 142 seats in the second phase on April 29. The counting of votes will be held in both the states, along with Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, on May 4.
"Since the beginning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a vision of equal development for both the eastern and western parts of the country, and by forming a government in West Bengal, that vision will be realised," Shah said.
He said anti-incumbency was at its peak in the state in 2021 as well, but the polling was not as fear-free as it should have been.
"A large number of booths were looted, and many people were not allowed to reach the polling stations in that election. But this time, the voters' list has been cleansed, security has been tightened, and the EC has made free and fair election its top priority," he said.
Shah claimed the BJP will get more votes in the state's Presidency Range, comprising Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24 Parganas and Nadia districts in the southern part of the state, than it did in north Bengal, which has been the party's stronghold over the last few years.
Asked about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's assertion that the TMC, along with other opposition parties, will "take over Delhi" after winning the West Bengal polls, he said with a wry smile, "Very good! There is nothing left here. Why will she come to Delhi? What should I say?"
He said a Bengal-born and Bengali-speaking person will be the first BJP chief minister of West Bengal, alleging that CM Banerjee was peddling the rumour that "outsiders" would be brought to rule here if the party wins.
Stating that thousands of hectares of land have been illegally encroached in the state over the years, Shah said, "Like Assam, we will undertake a massive drive to free such lands for the development of Bengal."
However, he said the BJP's top priority after forming the government in Bengal will be to ensure the safety and security of women.
"As a gesture in this regard, we have given nominations to women who have been affected by atrocities," he said.
The BJP has given a ticket to Ratna Debnath, the mother of the doctor who was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, in Panihati and Rekha Patra, the face of the Sandeshkhali agitation, in Hingalganj.
"The woman chief minister of a state who says women should not venture out after 7 pm has no right to rule," Shah said, maintaining that even a teenage girl will be able to safely go out at 1 am if the BJP comes to power.
He said he firmly believes that women of Bengal will give an appropriate reply to the TMC for "opposing" the women's quota legislation in Parliament.
"I want to assure the constituencies where elections are yet to be held that we will abolish syndicate raj and 'bhaipo (nephew) tax'," he said, alluding to TMC MP Abhishek Bhanerjee, the nephew of the CM.
Shah said another priority of the new BJP government will be to allot land to the BSF at the India-Bangladesh border for fencing to prevent infiltration.
Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of institutionalising corruption, Shah alleged that scams worth over Rs 10,000 crore took place during the TMC rule in the state since 2011.
He said that after the BJP comes to power in the state, a White Paper will be released on the alleged corruption that happened during the TMC rule, and an investigation will be done under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge.
Urging people to vote for 'parivartan' in the second phase as well, he said it does not mean just changing an MLA, a political party in power or a chief minister, but making the state free of infiltration, corruption and appeasement, and ensuring fast development, obliterating red tape and creating employment opportunities.
"A change in the state will also translate to making short-term and long-term policy for infrastructure development, and to make available resources for those to fructify," he said.
The TMC had come to power in 2011, calling for 'parivartan' of the CPI(M)-led Left Front government that ruled the state for an uninterrupted 34 years from 1977.
