A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has rejected the temporary bail applications of Indrani Mukerjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, both co-accused in Mukerjea’s daughter Sheena Bora’s 2012 murder.
The duo has been in jail since end-2015 after their arrest. Both had claimed bail on the grounds of the pandemic. Indrani had sought bail in May on the grounds that she had tested positive for COVID-19 the previous month in Byculla jail, where she is lodged. The 49-year-old was among 38 inmates of the prison who had tested positive during a drive held there.
Six of her previous bail applications have been rejected in the past. The last one to be rejected was filed on the merits of the case. While rejecting it, the court had said that the trial is ongoing and it cannot assess the reliability or unreliability of evidence on record or pass a final conclusion on the evidentiary value of prosecution witnesses.
Sanjeev Khanna had sought the relief in June on the High Power Committee (HPC) recommendations for release of prisoners for decongestion of prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. A notification in May of the HPC entitled those whose pleas were rejected last year, to file again for the relief. Khanna’s plea for interim bail last year had been rejected by the court.
