CUTTACK: When Kaberi Sahu was just seven years old, her testimony had sealed the fate of her mother and she was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for committing murder of her father along with her paramour. 

After being the eyewitness for the prosecution in the murder case, now at 14, Kaberi’s reluctance even to utter the name of her mother and unwillingness to stay with her has again sealed 38-year-old Sebati Sahu’s fate. The Orissa High Court has refused to grant interim bail to Sebati and dismissed the appeal in which she had challenged her conviction.

The division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Sanju Panda on Tuesday said, “Upon considering the letter of Collector and District Magistrate of Angul, and unwillingness of Kaberi to stay with her mother and taking into consideration that she is a bright student and has outstanding performance in her studies and also participates in extra-curricular activities, we do not want to cause any kind of disturbance in her studies and other activities.” “Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we are not inclined to release Sebati on interim bail.

Accordingly, the Interlocutory Application (IA) stands dismissed. The appeal preferred by Sebati also stands dismissed being devoid of merit,” the bench said. Following the Covid-19 outbreak, Sebati had moved the application for interim bail for two months on the ground that there is nobody to take care of her daughter. Kaberi is staying at an orphanage in Angul district, which is not functioning properly due to lockdown. So her presence is necessary at this critical juncture, she contended in her bail plea.

After an inquiry following a court order, the Collector had reported in his letter that Kaberi showed unwillingness to stay with her mother. Sebati was convicted in the murder case and sentenced to life imprisonment by the District and Sessions Judge, Angul on October 28, 2015. She had then filed in the High Court a jail criminal appeal challenging her conviction on March 15, 2016. Her appeal was since pending. Before seeking interim bail, she had moved bail petitions thrice but they were rejected by the High Court.