Delhi court sends Kavitha to judicial custody till April 9

Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was arrested by ED from her Hyderabad residence on March 15.

A Delhi court on Tuesday put Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, 46 -- arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its investigation into money laundering charges linked to the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 -- in judicial custody till April 9.

BRS leader K Kavitha being taken to Rouse Avenue Court at the end of her Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI)

The court’s order came on an application by ED, which contended that she was a prominent politician, and if released, could influence witnesses and tamper with evidence. The federal agency also submitted that it was still investigating Kavitha’s role in the case, trying to unearth the proceeds of the crime, and to identify other people involved.

“Since the investigation of the case is pending qua role of the arrestee and for unearthing the further proceeds of crime and identifying the other person who are involved or connected with the process or activities related to proceeds of crime and further... the above­ named accused is remanded to judicial custody till 09.04.2024,” said special judge Kaveri Baweja.

Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was arrested by ED from her Hyderabad residence on March 15. She was subsequently before court on March 16, and remanded to ED custody till March 23, which was extended till Tuesday.

Kavitha’s legal team, comprising senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari and advocates Nitesh Rana and Deepak Nagar, moved an interim bail application citing the school examination of her 16-year-old son. A regular bail application is already pending before the judge.

The special court listed the interim bail application for hearing on April 1, after special public prosecutor Zoheb Hossain, appearing for ED, sought time to file a reply.

Kavitha also moved an application seeking permission to have home-cooked food, a mattress, slippers, clothes, bedsheets, books, blankets, pen, paper, some jewellery, and medicines while she is in judicial custody. The court directed the Tihar jail superintendent to permit her, in accordance with the rules.

On March 22, Kavitha approached the Supreme Court for bail, but the top court declined to pass orders on her request, directing the BRS leader to first approach the trial court. The Supreme Court said it would not directly hear her bail request merely because she was a political person or could afford to come directly to the top court.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business, but was scrapped after lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. ED is carrying out a separate probe into the policy in connection with alleged money laundering.

Although ED has not named Kavitha as an accused in any of the six charge sheets it has filed, the agency referred to the BRS leader as a key person in court documents.

The primary allegation against Kavitha is that she was part of the alleged “South Group” of businessmen and politicians, that paid kickbacks worth ₹100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in lieu of getting nine retail zones under the Delhi excise policy.

The BRS leader is also under the scanner of CBI, which had issued a summons to her last month. However, she skipped the summons, citing an exemption granted by the Supreme Court. Kavitha has denied all allegations. Three top AAP leaders -- Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh -- have been arrested over the same case. They, too, have denied any wrongdoing.