Kavitha likely to skip ED summons in Delhi excise case

The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha and asked her to appear before it on Tuesday

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha and asked her to appear before it on Tuesday for questioning in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, people familiar with the development said on Monday.

K Kavitha — the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao — is expected to be questioned about her association with Delhi-based businessman Sameer Mahendru’s Indospirits Group. (HTtweets-X)

Kavitha, however, is likely to skip the summons. Though the BRS leader or her party did not give any official statement on the issue, her counsel Nitesh Rana said, “The Supreme Court has given directions to not summon Kavitha. So, this summons is in violation of the court order.”

According to ED officials, Kavitha — the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao — is expected to be questioned about her association with Delhi-based businessman Sameer Mahendru’s Indospirits Group. She will also be questioned on allegations that the so-called South Group, of which she was ostensibly a member, paid alleged kickbacks to the tune of ₹100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, the officials added.

The BRS leader was previously questioned by ED in March 2023. The federal anti-money laundering probe agency is trying to unearth Kavitha’s role in influencing the now-scrapped excise policy. The agency alleges that Kavitha was in touch with the AAP’s communication in-charge, Vijay Nair, who was meeting liquor businessmen and politicians at the time the excise policy was being formulated.

During her previous questioning, Kavitha was confronted with the statements of Butchibabu Gorantla, her former chartered accountant, and Arun Ramchandra Pillai, who represented her interests during multiple meetings with Nair and others. While Butchibabu was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February, Pillai was arrested by ED in March last year.

Butchibabu, in his statement recorded before ED officials in February 2023, said, “There was a political understanding between K Kavitha and the chief minister of Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) and (former) deputy CM (Manish Sisodia) of Delhi. In that process, K Kavitha has also met Vijay Nair on March 19-20, 2021.”

She has denied all charges.

ED recently issued a fourth summons to Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear on January 18.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee regime for traders and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. The policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with Delhi’s lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime, with the AAP alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.

ED pegged the loss in the excise policy irregularities at ₹2,873 crore. ED has alleged that a part of the ₹100 crore kickbacks generated in the Delhi excise policy was used in the AAP campaign in the 2022 Goa assembly election.

The South Group comprises YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), K Kavitha, and Sameer Mahendru. It was represented by Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Pillai, and Butchibabu in meetings with Vijay Nair and other liquor businessmen.