NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday in its order refused to grant any immediate relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for her alleged involvement in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi Excise Policy scam case.
While refusing to comment on the merits of the case, a three-judge bench of the top court, headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and also comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi, directed Kavitha to approach the trial court for bail.
It also made it clear that her bail plea be decided expeditiously by the trial court.
The apex court, however, issued notice to the ED on Kavitha's plea challenging against provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and tagged the matter with the petitions already pending before it seeking review of the Vijay Madanlal judgment.
Seeking bail in the case, Kapil Sibal, the senior lawyer appearing for Kavitha, said to see what was happening in the country. "All the statements are by approvers. I am very upset as counsel."
After hearing this, the court urged the senior counsel to not get carried away and or overcome by emotions. "Do not get emotional. This will take time. Regarding bail, you have to go to trial court," the top court said.
It is also to be noted that earlier on March 15, during an hearing in the top court, Kavitha's another plea challenging the ED's powers as to whether or not the agency has the power to summon her in light of a July 2022 judgment in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case, was taken up, and the matter was adjourned for March 19, Tuesday.
But on the same day, on March 15, she was arrested by the central probe agency at 5.30pm, while it was conducting a raid and questioning her at her Hyderabad residence.
On March 16, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court's Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) M K Nagpal had directed that Kavitha would remain in the ED custody for a period of 7 day, till March 23, 2024.
Kavitha, 46, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, termed her arrest as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and said, "We will fight it (case) out in the court. My arrest is blatant abuse of power illegally used by the ED," she said.
The ED, in its allegation claimed 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 Rs 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.
