Court denies Mukerjea’s plea for reissuance of OCI card

A special CBI court in Mumbai has refused to entertain a plea filed by Indrani Mukerjea seeking reissuance of her OCI certificate. Mukerjea, an Indian-born UK national, was jailed for over six years for the alleged kidnapping and murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. The court stated that it did not have the power to give directions to the FRRO for reissuance. The CBI has recommended the cancellation of Mukerjea's OCI registration.

MUMBAI: A special CBI court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by Indrani Mukerjea seeking directions to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for the reissuance of her Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) certificate. Mukerjea is an Indian-born UK national who was jailed for over six years in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of her daughter Sheena Bora in 2012.

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“The tenability of this application is not satisfactorily explained. There is no rule or legal provision brought to my notice which would empower this court to give directions to FRRO, Mumbai for re-issuance of OCI certificate,” held special judge SP Naik-Nimbalkar while advising the applicant to take appropriate legal recourse. He noted that the provision under which the application was filed was not mentioned in it.

Advocate Ranjit Sangle, representing Mukerjea, submitted that her present OCI card was in a damaged condition. He said that after the court returned Mukerjea’s OCI certificate to her for re-issuance last year, she had applied to the FRRO requesting an appointment. On May 17, 2023, the FRRO reverted, saying she was required to re-apply due to technical glitches. Mukerjea then re-applied twice but was not given an appointment despite enquiring about it several times over email and in person.

“The applicant is a British national holding a British passport. The applicant requires a valid OCI registration certificate as it is her residency permit and her life-long visa to reside in India. The applicant has applied for renewal of her passport. The renewed passport number is also required to be updated on the OCI registration card. Hence, it is prayed to give directions to the FRRO, Mumbai for re-issuance of the OCI registration certificate of the applicant,” Sangle added.

The CBI in its reply stated that since Mukerjea was imprisoned for more than two years, the central government had recommended cancellation of her OCI registration as per section 7(D)(d) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The CBI also stated that it was waiting for the ministry of home affairs for further guidelines in the matter.

Mukerjea was arrested in 2015 in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of her daughter Sheena Bora in 2012. It was alleged that Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamwar Rai strangled Bora inside a car in Mumbai and disposed of her body in a forest in Raigad district. According to the CBI, Mukerjea had killed Bora because she was furious over her relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, the son of media baron Peter Mukerjea, also her former husband.

Though Indrani Mukerjea had claimed that Sheena Bora was not murdered but was alive, she was unable to provide any evidence to support her claims.