Delhi Excise Policy Case: Court Adjourns Hearing on K Kavitha’s Bail Plea till Apr 4

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has adjourned further hearings on the interim bail petition filed by BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha to April 4 in connection with the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy. The court asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to decide whether he wished to argue on interim or final bail.

Simultaneously, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted a reply regarding the bail of BRS leader K Kavitha in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. ED stated that the reply covers both interim and regular bail.

Previously, on March 29, Kavitha filed an application in the Rouse Avenue court requesting directions to the Tihar Jail Administrator to permit her to have home-cooked food and mattresses in accordance with the court’s order dated March 26, 2024. The plea emphasized the necessity for the applicant’s health to have access to home-cooked food and a mattress.

Furthermore, Kavitha sought directions from the jail superintendent at Tihar to allow her to bring her spectacles and japa mala to the jail. The plea also requested various other items such as slippers, bedsheets, books, blankets, pens, sheets of paper, jewelry, and medicine during judicial custody.

However, despite the court’s order dated March 26, 2024, none of the specified articles were provided or allowed to be carried by Kavitha. Notably, she was not even permitted to bring her spectacles and japa mala to the jail.

Taking note of the grievance, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja scheduled a hearing for March 30, 2024, and requested a response from the Tihar Jail authorities. Advocate Nitesh Rana, along with Mohit Rao and Deepak Nagar, represented K Kavitha in the matter.

On April 9, 2024, the Rouse Avenue Court remanded BRS MLC Kavitha to judicial custody. She was arrested recently in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Kavitha MLC, a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, on March 15, 2024, in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy Scam. A search was also conducted at Kavitha’s residence in Hyderabad on the same day. During the search, ED officials encountered obstruction from Kavitha’s relatives and associates.

ED’s investigation revealed that K Kavitha, along with others, conspired with senior leaders of AAP, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, to receive favors in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise policy. In exchange for these favors, she allegedly paid Rs. 100 Crore to AAP leaders.

ED has filed one prosecution complaint and 5 supplementary complaints in the case so far. Assets worth Rs. 128.79 Crore, generated from the Proceeds of Crime, have been traced and attached through Provisional Attachment Orders confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, New Delhi.

ED has filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency conducted nearly 200 search operations after filing an FIR based on a CBI case, which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor. The CBI inquiry was initiated following the findings of a report by the Delhi Chief Secretary, showing prima facie violations of various laws including the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010.

Both the ED and the CBI alleged irregularities in modifying the excise policy, extending undue favors to license holders, waiving or reducing the license fee, and extending the L-1 license without proper approval. The beneficiaries allegedly diverted illegal gains to accused officials and made false entries in their account books to evade detection, as stated by the probe agencies.