She had also told the judge that she was aware of the process of cross-examination.(FILE)
A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday rejected a plea of Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive and the prime accused in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, seeking permission to cross-examine prosecution witness Rahul Mukerjea in person.
Rahul Mukerjea, son of former media baron Peter Mukerjea and fiance of Sheena Bora, is currently deposing before the special CBI court in the ongoing trial in the murder case which came to light seven years ago.
Earlier, after the prosecution completed recording of Rahul Mukerjea's testimony, Indrani Mukerjea, who is out on bail, told the court she wants to cross-examine Rahul Mukerjea in person.
The prime accused had also told the judge that though she does not possess a law degree, she was aware of the process of cross-examination.
However, the special CBI court judge rejected her application, saying "Mukerjea is not permitted to cross-examine Rahul Mukerjea and further prosecution witnesses, in person." Meanwhile, the court granted the central probe agency time till July 20 to prepare the transcript of recorded telephonic conversation of Rahul Mukerjea with other accused in the case.
The murder came to light in 2015, three years after Sheena Bora (24) was allegedly killed by her mother Indrani Mukerjea with the help of co-accused Sanjeev Khanna and Shyamvar Rai.
As per the Central Bureau of Investigation, Indrani Mukerjea, a former wife of Peter Mukerjea, disapproved of Sheena Bora's relationship with Rahul Mukerjea.
She also had financial disputes with Sheena Bora, her daughter from a previous marriage, the CBI has said.
Indrani Mukerjea, arrested in 2015, was granted bail by the Supreme Court last month.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)