Delhi excise policy case: The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has extended BRS leader K Kavitha's ED remand till April 9 (Tuesday). She was taken to Tihar Jail, after the Delhi court sent her to judicial custody in the excise policy case. Earlier, a Delhi court in the national capital on Tuesday (March 26) sent her to 14-day judicial custody in the Delhi excise policy scam case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not seek an extension of her custodial interrogation.
The counsel for the ED countered the bail, saying even if interim bail is to be considered, then opportunity must be given for filing a reply. The ED underlined that for both interim and regular bail there were stringent provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The agency has alleged that Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was a key member of the 'South Group' that has been accused of paying the AAP kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital.
The 46-year-old was arrested by the central probe agency on March 15. Kavitha's counsel also sought permission for physically inspecting the documents submitted by the agency in a sealed cover under provisions 19 (2) of the PMLA. According to the provision, the authorities concerned, immediately after making an arrest were required to forward the arrest order along with the material in its possession to the court.
The ED has alleged that Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was a key member of the 'South Group' that has been accused of paying the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital.
Bail plea of BRS leader K Kavitha
Rouse Avenue Court will hear the bail plea of K Kavita on April 1 (Monday).
Arrest from Hyderabad
Kavitha was arrested after a search operation conducted at Kavitha's residence in Hyderabad on the same day. During the search proceedings, the ED officials said they were obstructed by the relatives and associates of Kavitha.
"ED investigation revealed that K Kavitha along with others allegedly conspired with the top leaders of AAP including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia for getting favours in the Delhi Excise policy formulation and implementation," ED claimed in a statement.
"In exchange for these favours, she was involved in paying Rs 100 crore to the leaders of AAP. By the acts of corruption and conspiracy in the formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, a continuous stream of illegal funds in the form of kickback, from the wholesalers was generated for the AAP," it added.
Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was on Friday remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for seven days, i.e., till March 28, a day after he was arrested by the probe agency in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the excise policy case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.
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