Delhi court denies interim bail to K Kavitha in Excise Policy case

A Delhi court on Monday denied interim bail to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy case. .Special Judge (PC Act) Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts pronounced the order after having reserved it on April 4. .Kavitha was arrested on March 15 evening from Hyderabad, hours after an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team searched the premises and interrogated her. She is presently in judicial custody in Tihar Jail.She is among one of the most high-profile politicians to be arrested by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case.Other political leaders arrested in this case include Delhi Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.All of them are accused of being part of a conspiracy to frame the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22 in a manner that enabled money laundering and benefitted certain liquor lobby groups..The ED has claimed Kavitha was linked to a "South Group" lobby of liquor traders who were trying to play a larger role under the excise policy.It has been alleged that one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks to the tune of at least ₹100 crores on behalf of AAP leaders from the "South Group", allegedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, K Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.Kavitha has claimed that she is innocent and counter-alleged that the Central government was misusing the ED to gain ground in Telangana.On March 16, the Rouse Avenue Court had remanded her to ED custody for a week.On March 22, the Supreme Court denied any urgent relief to her and added that she would have to approach the trial court for bail.On March 26, she was sent to judicial custody by the trial court until April 9.Meanwhile, she filed the present plea for interim bail..Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kavitha, highlighted the proviso to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) which allows court to release woman-accused on bail notwithstanding the rigorous bail conditions under PMLA.He argued that the son of the accused is giving exams and would need his mother for emotional support."The child is not a toddler. He is 16 years old but the issue here is of emotional support of the mother. Think of the shock of the arrest of mother on child," Singhvi said.He also highlighted the lectures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the pressure on children during exams."The Prime Minister gives lectures on exam pressure on All India Radio... This pressure is not an imaginary phenomenon. The perspective of the mother is not substitutable by the father or sister. It is not substitutable by a maasi also," he said.He also pointed out that Kavitha's husband is already fighting the legal battle in Delhi."The ecosystem of a mother being there is different. ED says son is 16 years old and he has a father and a mama. But that cannot substitute for a mother. The father of the child is already fighting these legal battles in Delhi. The child is in Telangana," he said..Advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED said that the exception to women under the proviso to Section 45 of PMLA is meant for women who lack agency."It is not for a woman who is in public life and leading politician of the state," he said.Hossain also said how Kavitha was one of the main accused in the case."The lady in question is one of the prime movers of giving bribes. She is also a beneficiary through her proxies. This is not based only on statements but based on documents and WhatsApp chats. This is all corroborated," he contended.He also claimed that Kavitha destroyed evidence against her including evidence on her mobile phone."My lady will have to decide the extent of her involvement and the material against her. I have forensic report which shows how evidence was destroyed. She deleted evidence in her mobile phone. This was done on the date she was issued summons. There was no data in apps like FaceTime. On March 11, she said she will produce the phone on the next date. On the next date she produced 9 phones. But these were formatted. She said she did not do it. When we pressed, she was evasive. The forensic report shows they were formatted after March 11," Hossain argued.He also claimed that ED is the verge of a breakthrough in the probe and granting interim bail to Kavitha will derail the investigation."We are at the stage of making a major breakthrough. Any interim relief will derail the probe. She is very influential and will influence the people," it was contended.In this regard, Hossain also alleged that the accused had already attempted to influence witnesses."We want to highlight that there is influencing of witnesses. Attempt is to make witnesses retract the statement. A person has come forward and told us he was forced. There is destruction of evidence as well," it was stated.Regarding Kavitha's son's exam, it was stated,"Her son's 7 out of 12 papers are already over. He is not alone. He has a father and an elder brother. The young man is not alone."