Delhi liquor policy case: Rouse Avenue court give BRS MLC Kavitha to ED’s custody up to March 23

NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court on Saturday remanded K Kavitha, BRS MLC and daughter of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for seven days in Enforcement Directorates’s custody. Special CBI Judge, Justice MK Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court here in New Delhi delivered the verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.

Before entering the courtroom Kavitha told the media that she was falsely implicated in the liquor scam case. “This is an illegal case and I will fight it out in the court,” she said.

Earlier, on Saturday morning, a team of doctors visited ED headquarters at Parivartan Bhavan and conducted mandatory medical tests on Kavitha. Section 144 was imposed around the ED office given the huge number of BRS activists who arrived from Hyderabad to express solidarity with the BRS MLC.

Kavitha was taken into custody from her home in Hyderabad on Friday in the Delhi Liquor scam case, under the Money Laundering Hawala Act. and was shifted to New Delhi. She was kept in the cell in the ED‘s office on Friday night.

Kavitha’s counsel Senior Advocate Vikram Choudhary argued that the ED arrested the BRS MLC in contradiction to its assurance to the Supreme Court that it would not initiate any punitive action against the lady. He pointed out that Kavitha was arrested despite cooperating with the investigation agency.

“ED issued a summons while her petition was still pending with the Supreme Court. The hearing is slated for March 19,” he said. Earlier, Justice Nagpal allowed Vikram Choudhry to speak to his client Kavitha for five minutes.

However, senior advocates NK Matta, and Zoheb Hossain on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate sought custody of Kavitha for ten days and argued that the Supreme Court asked the ED not to take any harsh decisions but did not pass any directions nor did the ED give any such undertaking.

ED in its custody petition submitted to the Court described Kavitha as one of the kingpins, a key conspirator and beneficiary of the Delhi Excise Policy Scam.

“She along with other members of the south group including Sarath Reddy, Raghav Magunta, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, conspired with the top leaders of the AAP and gave them kickbacks to the tune of Rs. 100 crore and in exchange got undue favours in the Delhi Excise Policy formulation and implementation,” ED said.

ED said that Kavitha orchestrated a deal with Arvind Kejriwal and the then Deputy CM and then Minister of Excise, Manish Sisodia, wherein she along with other members of the South Group paid them kickbacks through a string of intermediaries and middlemen. In exchange for the kickbacks paid to the leaders of AAP, Kavitha had access to the policy formulation and was offered provisions to ensure a favourable position for her.

The investigation agency submitted that Kavitha further got stakes in the partnership of Indo Spirits, through her dummy Arun Pillai, without substantial investment in this firm and distribution business of Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, which was one of the biggest manufacturers in the country and thus made Indo Spirits, the most profitable in the Delhi Excise policy 2021-22 period and thus recouped proceeds of crime in guise of profits.

The report mentioned that the profit margin of the wholesaler was increased to 12 percent so that out of this margin, a portion of it could be taken back as kickbacks. “This was done to create a continuous stream of illegal funds for the AAP in the form of kickbacks from the wholesalers and for the South group to recover the kickbacks paid and further generate profits from this entire conspiracy. ED told the court that Kavitha along with others paid a Rs 100 crore bribe to AAP leaders,” the ED report said.

Meanwhile, the Rouse court granted bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 and a surety of Rs 1 lakh. The CM appeared before the court following a summons issued to him by the court based on two ED complaints in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case.

Kavitha’s husband asked to depose on Monday

Kavitha’s husband D R Anil Kumar was asked to depose before the ED on Monday. The agency issued notices to three of her personal staff. Anil Kimar was present when the deal was discussed by Kavitha with Aurobindo’s Sarath Chandra Reddy and how the money trail happened was explained by the ED in its remand report. 

Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, who had met Kavitha at her residence to discuss the issue, was the one who spilled the beans after he had turned approver. 

The ED insisted that Kavitha had involved in the case directly and laid emphasis at every point in the 15-page remand report submitted in the court.