Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Monday issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on BRS leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha’s bail application in a corruption case related to the alleged Delhi excise scam.
Special judge for CBI and ED cases Kaveri Baweja, who had ordered Kavitha’s judicial custody until April 23, instructed the federal agency to submit its response to the application by April 22.
CBI
The CBI arrested the Telengana MLC and daughter of former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao from Tihar Jail, where she was detained following her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the alleged scam. The CBI is investigating alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the AAP government’s excise policy, while the ED is probing the money laundering aspect.
K Kavitha’s Bail Application
In her bail application in the corruption case, Kavitha stated that she was a “star campaigner” for her party in the general elections. She requested interim bail while her regular bail application was pending.
Alleging that the “ruling party in the Centre is using investigative agencies to publicly connect the petitioner to the Delhi Excise Policy,” she claimed that the intention behind the purported investigation against her was to tarnish her reputation and that of her father, the former chief minister of Telangana.
Earlier in the day, the agency presented Kavitha before the court after the expiration of her three-day CBI remand and asked for her to be sent to judicial custody, stating that she was not needed for further interrogation.
The CBI argued that Kavitha had not provided satisfactory answers to their questions and had been evasive during interrogation. Kavitha’s counsel opposed the CBI’s plea, arguing that the allegations against her were insufficient grounds for judicial custody.
The ED had arrested Kavitha from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15. Kavitha’s bail application in the money laundering case is also pending before the court.