The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday granted regular bail to BRS MLC and former Telangana Chief Minister KCR’s daughter Kavitha Kalvakuntla, who was arrested on March 15 in connection with the controversial Delhi liquor policy case that was formulated in 2021-2022 by the Arvind Kejriwal’s government. The former MP of Nizamabad was in Tihar jail for five and a half months.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, during the hearing, questioned the fairness of the prosecution agency (CBI/ED) and criticised their selective approach in treating some accused as approvers.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing Kavitha, sought bail saying the probe against her has already been completed by the two agencies. He also referred to the apex court’s verdict granting bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia, a co-accused in the two cases.Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the probe agencies, claimed that Kavitha had destroyed her mobile phone and her conduct amounted to tampering with evidence.
Investigation is complete and chargesheet has been filed. Custody of the appellant is not necessary. She has been behind bars for 5 months. The likelihood of trial being concluded in near future is impossible. As said in various pronouncements of this court, undertrial custody should not turn into a punishment,” the Court said.
The Court also said that Kavitha is entitled to beneficial treatment available to women under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The Court also took strong exception to the Delhi High Court observations that an educated, sophisticated woman is not entitled to bail under the beneficiary provision for women under PMLA.
Kavitha was arrested by the ED on March 15 from Hyderabad. Subsequently, the CBI took her into custody on April 11.The CBI and the ED have claimed that she was involved in the exchange of bribes and the laundering of money in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy.
After languishing in jail for more than five months, Kavitha finally got releif in the form of bail. Kavitha’s brother and BRS working president KTR along with other leaders went to Delhi to attend the court hearing. They will accompany Kavitha following her release shortly.