Sheena Bora murder case: Court allows Indrani plea for faster trial

The development came after Indrani filed a plea seeking hearings on a daily basis. In the plea moved through her lawyer Ranjeet Sangle, Mukerjea had claimed that because of the inordinate delay in concluding the trial, her fundamental right to work in the country of her nationality (England) is hampered. She added in the plea that freedom to travel outside India was also curtailed

Mumbai: A special CBI court has expedited the trial in the Sheena Bora murder case in which four persons, including her mother, have been named as accused. The court has now decided to conduct the trial four days a month.

Mukerjea’s former husband Sanjeev Khanna, who is also an accused in the case, had however, objected to the plea saying it would not be possible for him to attend the court on a day-to-day basis. He had pleaded that it should be kept every week. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

The development came after Indrani filed a plea seeking hearings on a daily basis. In the plea moved through her lawyer Ranjeet Sangle, Mukerjea had claimed that because of the inordinate delay in concluding the trial, her fundamental right to work in the country of her nationality (England) is hampered. She added in the plea that freedom to travel outside India was also curtailed.

It was contended that the case was more than seven years old. “Mukerjea was in jail for about seven years as an undertrial prisoner. The prosecution has examined 71 witnesses so far. They have submitted a list of 92 more witnesses to be examined. For several months, the prosecution is unable to conduct the matter expeditiously,” Mukerjea argued.

Mukerjea’s former husband Sanjeev Khanna, who is also an accused in the case, had however, objected to the plea saying it would not be possible for him to attend the court on a day-to-day basis. He had pleaded that it should be kept every week.

The prosecution on the other hand said that it was ready to expedite the hearing but maintained that the delay is not because of them. “It is due to the filing of Miscellaneous Applications by the defence and deliberate failure to complete the cross-examination in a timely manner that the trial is not conducted expeditiously. Adjournments for cross-examination preparations and prolonged dates for cross-examination taken by the defence are part of the record. Therefore, the prosecution is not responsible for any alleged delay,” the prosecution had said in their reply to Mukerjea’s plea.

After hearing all the parties, the court ordered to expedite the trial and has now fixed the schedule of the dates. The case would now be heard on every first and third Thursdays and Fridays of every month.