The special CBI court refused to give any directions to Foreign Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) for re-issuance of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card to Indrani Mukerjea, facing trial for the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora. Mukerjea has been a British national since 2012.
OCI is a status given to foreign nationals of Indian origin which provides the right to stay and work in India indefinitely. Mukerjea had obtained a citizenship of the UK after her marriage with media baron Peter Mukerjea, who was a British national.
However, since her arrest in August 2015, Indrani has been in India. Even after her release on bail she needs permission of the court to move out of the country. Besides, to continue her stay in India, she needs to renew her OCI card for which she applied in May 2023.
Mukerjea's lawyer Ranjeet Sangle submitted to the court that 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. Hence, it is prayed to give directions to the FRRO, Mumbai for re-issuance of the OCI registration certificate.
Awaiting further guidelines from MHA: CBI
CBI in its reply said, it is submitted that the applicant had approached their office via email on May 11, 2023 for re-issuance of OCI card. She was advised to reapply and submit a fresh application mentioning the case details. Further, she reapplied online.
Besides, CBI said, in the present case, the applicant has undergone imprisonment for more than two years, the matter was referred to headquarters in Delhi. Also, CBI said, they are still awaiting further guidelines from MHA in this regard. Hence, it is submitted that the applicant was not provided any appointment for submission of her OCI application.
The court after hearing this refused to interfere with the process observing, “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. Therefore, the tenability of this application is not satisfactorily explained. Resultantly, the applicant may take appropriate legal recourse."
