Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha. File | Photo Credit: ANI
The Delhi High Court on May 28 reserved its order on bail plea of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy case.
Ms. Kavitha is in judicial custody in cases lodged both by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI in relation to the alleged scam.
Ms. Kavitha was arrested by the ED first for her alleged role in money laundering in the excise policy case and was sent to Tihar Jail. The CBI, which is probing the liquor policy case, arrested her when she was in jail.
During the hearing, the CBI and the ED opposed her bail pleas, saying she played a key role in the conspiracy behind the “scam” and, being an active politician and a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, she cannot seek parity with “vulnerable” women.
Ms. Kavitha has challenged a trial court’s May 6 order dismissing her bail applications in the CBI’s corruption case as well as the ED’s money laundering case. Her lawyer had pointed out that out of the 50 accused in the excise case, she is the lone woman, and urged the Delhi High Court to consider granting her bail as law keeps women on a different pedestal.
The ED, in its reply to Ms. Kavitha’s bail plea, stated that she has the potential to tamper with evidence and influence witnesses. The agency contended that the Telangana lawmaker is a “highly influential” individual and stands accused of having committed a grave economic offence.
The daughter of BRS president and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao was arrested from her residence in Hyderabad on March 15 on charges of being a part of the ‘South Group’ that allegedly paid ₹100 crore to the AAP government in Delhi for altering the liquor policy of the Delhi government to suit their business needs.
