Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on Monday rejected the bail plea of BRS leader K Kavitha arrested in the now scrapped Delhi liquor policy case. Court’s Special Judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order and rejected Kavitha’s regular bail plea in the cases filed by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Significantly, Kavitha, now lodged in Tihar Jail following her arrest March 15 by the Enforcement Directorate on her alleged role in the Delhi excise policy case, was earlier also arrested by the CBI on April 11, which is also investigating the case. A detailed order of the court is awaited in the matter.
Earlier, on April 8, the court had rejected K Kavitha’s interim bail plea. During the hearing on the interim bail plea, the ED had said that K Kavitha cannot be given any concession in granting bail in the money laundering case because she is a woman.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on behalf of K Kavitha, had accused the ED of becoming a harassing agency rather than an investigating agency. Singhvi had said that the investigation in this case has been completely biased.
The probing agency informed that Kavitha had threatened Sharath Chandra Reddy that if he fails to pay the said amount to the Aam Aadmi Party, his business in Telangana and Delhi will be harmed.
“Kavitha further told Sharath Chandra Reddy that the payments of upfront money of Rs 25 crore for wholesale business and Rs 5 crore for each retail zone were to be made to the Aam Aadmi Party for getting liquor business and the same was to be paid to her associates, Arun R Pillai and Abhishek Boinpally, who would in turn coordinate with Vijay Nair, who was a representative of (Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal,” the CBI told the court.
It is pertinent to note that Reddy, who was an accused in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged liquor scam in Delhi, had turned an approver in the case that is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).