CBI's plea to stop broadcast of Netflix series on Indrani Mukerjea rejected

A Mumbai special court on Tuesday rejected an application filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking a stay on the release of the docu-series 'The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth'. The docu-series is set to premiere on OTT platform Netflix on February 23.

The docu-series explores the disappearance of Sheena Bora, who, according to the CBI, was allegedly strangled to death in a car by her mother, Indrani Mukerjea, with the help of her ex-husband, Sanjeev Khanna, in April 2012. Bora was Indrani's daughter from a previous relationship. The murder came to light in 2015 after Indrani's driver, Shyamvar Rai, revealed the information to the police while being held in another case.

The court observed that the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021 have a proper access control mechanism as well as three tiers of grievance redressal.

At the beginning of the hearing, Judge Naik-Nimbalkar asked Public Prosecutor C J Nandode, representing the CBI, why no case laws had been mentioned to support the CBI appeal. The court refused to delve into the merits of the application and focused on the issue of its maintainability. The judge asked the respective parties to state the legal provisions under which the court's discretionary power was called upon to be exercised.

Nandode contended that "164 witnesses are yet to be examined" and that airing the docu-series before the matter is resolved would be prejudicial. He further stated that the trial court has inherent jurisdiction to issue the order sought by the CBI.

However, the judge pressed Nandode to specify the provision of law under which the trial court could stop the streaming.

Advocate Aabad Ponda, who represents the OTT platform Netflix, presented case law, arguing that only the high court and Supreme Court had inherent powers, not the sessions court.

Advocate Ranjeet Sangle, representing Indrani Mukerjea, emphasised that the right to privacy and the right to broadcast are covered in various Supreme Court judgements.

The judge also pointed out that when Indrani Mukerjea, the primary accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was granted bail by the Supreme Court, certain conditions were placed. The court emphasised that CBI had not charged a breach of these conditions.

The court concluded that CBI should approach the proper forum laid down in the IT rules to address grievances related to the streaming of a documentary on an online platform.

About 'The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth'

'The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth' promises to peel back the layers of the 'sensational' murder of Sheena Bora and the subsequent 2015 arrest of Sheena's alleged mother Indrani Mukerjea, who was earlier married to media tycoon Peter Mukerjea.

The docu-series features Indrani Mukerjea, her children, veteran journalists, and lawyers spotlighting dysfunctional family dynamics and complex motivations, Netflix India said in a statement, according to PTI.

The Netflix series comes months after Indrani Mukerjea's 2023 memoir, 'Unbroken: The Untold Story'. In the book, the media-maven-turned-murder-accused recounts her entire life as well as six years in prison. She is out on bail.