CBI court rejects Vidhie plea to stay with her mother, Indrani Mukerjea

The court also reserved order on Indrani’s plea that her Indian Residency permit as an Overseas Citizen of India be returned to her

Mumbai: The special court on Wednesday rejected Vidhie Mukerjea’s plea seeking permission to live with her mother, murder accused Indrani Mukerjea who is out on bail, on grounds that Vidhie had not yet been examined by the prosecution in the Sheena Bora case in which she is a witness.

Vidhie (24), who is scheduled to return to Mumbai from London on September 10, had moved court on August 30 seeking permission to live with Indrani (HT)

“[Vidhie] is an important witness and her examination is yet to be recorded. In such circumstances, and in view of the terms and conditions imposed by the Supreme Court do not permit A-1 (Indrani) to meet Applicant Vidhie Mukerjea in any case,” the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court said while rejecting Vidhie’s plea.

The court also reserved order on Indrani’s plea that her Indian Residency permit as an Overseas Citizen of India be returned to her. The CBI objected to her plea stating that since Indrani was a British national, she may abscond if the card was returned to her.

Vidhie (24), who is scheduled to return to Mumbai from London on September 10, had moved court on August 30 seeking permission to live with Indrani, as she suffers from an irreversible neurological condition and living with her would be of “great emotional significance”.

Vidhie is Indrani’s youngest daughter from her second marriage to Sanjeev Khanna, and Bora’s half-sister. She is one of the witnesses in Bora’s murder case, in which Khanna, one of the other accused, received bail in June. Indrani, Khanna, and their driver Shyamvar Rai, are accused of murdering Bora, who was Indrani’s daughter from a previous marriage. Indrani was arrested in August 2015 and received bail in May this year. The trial court however restrained Indrani from any contact with witnesses in the case.

“Applicant’s (Vidhie) mother is suffering from irreversible cerebral ischemia, she is frail and requires proper personal and medical care, which the Applicant would like to provide to the best of her ability and time. The Applicant’s mother has no family, apart from the Applicant, in Mumbai,” Vidhie’s plea stated.

The special court on Wednesday however noted that as per Indrani’s bail conditions, the former chief executive officer of INX Media, was not supposed to have any contact with witnesses yet to be examined by the prosecution, influence or tamper with prosecution evidence.

The prosecution has cited close to 150 witnesses of which 68 have been examined so far.