Bombay high court grants bail to Peter Mukerjea in Sheena Bora murder case

MUMBAI: In a major setback to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and relief to Peter Mukerjea, the Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to him in the Sheena Bora murder case. The court, however, stayed its order by six weeks to enable an appeal by the CBI.
The court granted him bail on a surety of Rs 2 lakh while restraining him from travelling abroad without prior permission from the court.
The high court said his passport would be deposited with the CBI and he cannot seek any adjournment in the trial.
Peter Mukerjea was arrested on November 19, 2015, in the Sheena Bora killing case, in which his former wife Indrani Mukerjea is the main accused. He was out briefly on medical grounds for heart surgery last year.
Justice NW Sambr, who passed the order considered the merits of the case and among its reasons for granting bail, said the evidence on record doesn't show prima facie proof of his direct involvement on the day of the alleged crime in April 2012, also the call data records do not disclose adequate proof and indicate that Shyamwar Rai was being given instructions by main accused Indrani Mukerjea.
His case as argued by his counsel Shrikant Shivade was that he has no role whatsoever in the murder case in which his wife Indrani Mukerjea and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna are co-accused.
Additional solicitor general Anil Singh and Sandesh Patil for CBI opposed Mukerjea's plea pointing to the chargesheet and witnesses’ statements as well as the call data record which showed numerous calls between him and his wife Indrani the main accused before, during and after the alleged incident.