NEW DELHI: Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday in a detailed order remanded Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha to seven-day custody to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for her alleged involvement in the Delhi liquor scam case.
Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) M K Nagpal directed that Kavitha would remain in the ED custody for a period of seven days till March 23.
Earlier in the day in the Rouse Avenue Court, Kavitha, 46, was produced by the central probe agency, ED, in the Special Judge court room. She was brought to the court with a heavy security cover.
During her production before the courtroom, Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, termed her arrest as illegal, unconstitutional and said, "We will fight it (case) out in the court," she said.
During the course of the hearing today, the ED had sought ten days of custody. The court, however, allowed seven-day custody to facilitate the agency to interrogate her.
The court directed the ED to produce Kavitha before it on March 23.
Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Kavitha, argued that her arrest yesterday was a blatant abuse of power, which violated an effective stay on her arrest, at least until March 19, when the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear her plea.
Chaudhary even went on to add that an Additional Solicitor General (ASG) had given an oral assurance to the SC that the ED would not arrest Kavitha until March 19. "But look at the way, she is arrested. This is completely illegal," he said, questioning the ED's way of arresting her.
If the ASG had given an oral assurance to the SC, then it should have refrained from arresting her till March 19. The ED has violated the apex court's orders, he alleged.
Chaudhary also cited that in yesterday's hearing in the Supreme Court, it did not record the ASG's assurance only because the ASG requested against it.
On the contrary, hours after the Supreme Court hearing, the ED entered her house under the garb of searches. But, at 5:20 PM, she was intimated of her arrest, he alleged.
"What prevented them from waiting for three days," Chaudhary argued.
Opposing these submissions, Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain, lawyer for the ED, said there was no statement given to any court that the ED would not take any coercive steps. The statement made was that summons will be issued to her after 10 days.
Hossain highlighted that there was no particular order or of any restraint on coercive action by the ED in the top court's orders against Kavitha.
"You cannot presume an interim relief in your favour if there is no express order," he argued.
After hearing both the lawyers' arguments, the trial court, however, questioned Hossain whether there was any real urgency warranting Kavitha's arrest on March 15 by the ED, when the Supreme Court was due to hear her case on March 19.
The ED, in its allegation, claimed that Kavitha was linked to a "South Group" lobby of liquor traders who were trying to play a larger role under the now scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
It has been alleged by the ED 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, Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.
She claimed innocence in the entire case.
