The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the bail applications of BRS leader K Kavitha in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. In the notice, the apex court sought responses from the central investigation agencies. SC posted the matter for further hearing on August 20.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan agreed to hear Kavitha’s arguments challenging the Delhi High Court verdict denying her bail in these cases.
On July 1, the apex court dismissed Kavitha’s bail applications in both cases, saying she was prima facie a key conspirator in the criminal conspiracy relating to the formation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.
The case concerns alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the policy.
The ED arrested Kavitha (46) from her residence in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad on March 15 and the CBI detained her on April 11 in connection with the corruption case linked to the alleged scam.
On August 10, the Supreme Court agreed to hear petitions filed by Kavitha challenging the Delhi High Court verdict denying her bail.
While dismissing their bail applications, the top court said no case had been made out for grant of regular bail as of now as the investigation is at a crucial stage.
The court rejected her request for compensation on the grounds that she is a woman, saying that as a well-educated person and former MP, she cannot be equated with a vulnerable woman and that the court cannot lose sight of the “serious allegations” against her.
It was noted that the material collected by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has pointed out that Kavitha was one of the key conspirators in the entire conspiracy related to formulation and implementation of the policy.
In the high court, Kavitha had challenged a trial court’s May 6 order that had dismissed her bail applications in the CBI corruption case as well as the ED money laundering case.
The case concerns alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the policy.
In her bail application filed before the apex court in the ED case, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, had said she had “nothing to do” with the excise policy and there was a criminal conspiracy against her “orchestrated by the ruling party at the Centre with the active connivance of the ED”.
(With PTI inputs)
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