BRS Leader K Kavitha remanded to CBI custody in liquor policy scam case
GUWAHATI: Former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Manish Sisodia, has approached a Delhi Court seeking interim bail to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam case.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts has sought responses from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sisodia's interim bail plea. The matter has been listed for hearing on April 20. The request for more time to file replies was made by Special counsel Zoheb Hossain representing the ED, and the counsel appearing for the CBI.
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Advocate Vivek Jain appeared on behalf of Sisodia in the court. The AAP leader was initially arrested by the CBI on February 26 last year and subsequently by the ED on March 9.
Sisodia's bail applications have been consistently denied by the trial court, Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court in both the ED and CBI cases. His review petitions and curative petitions against the denial of bail have also been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
In the FIR filed by the CBI, Sisodia and others are accused of influencing decisions regarding the 2021-22 excise policy without proper approval, allegedly to favour licensees post-tender. The ED alleges that the policy was implemented as part of a conspiracy to provide undue benefits to certain private companies.
The Directorate further claims that there was coordination to provide extraordinary profit margins to wholesalers, allegedly under the direction of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia. Sisodia's bail pleas in both cases were rejected by Special Judge MK Nagpal last year, following which the Delhi High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court upheld the decisions.
Despite repeated attempts, Sisodia has been unable to secure bail, with the Supreme Court refusing his bail plea on October 30 last year.
Meanwhile, a Delhi Court on Friday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody of BRS leader K Kavitha until April 15 in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam. Special judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts issued the order after Kavitha was presented in court following her arrest by the probe agency the previous day.
According to the CBI, Kavitha is considered one of the main conspirators in the liquor policy case and is believed to be withholding crucial information. The agency sought custody for five days to further interrogate her.
Kavitha was previously arrested on March 15 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the excise policy. At the time of her arrest by the CBI, Kavitha was in judicial custody. The CBI obtained permission from the court to question her in jail.
In its remand application, the CBI alleged that Kavitha assured Sarath Reddy of assistance in the liquor business under the excise policy, leveraging her purported connections in the Delhi Government. Additionally, she purportedly demanded Rs. 25 crores from Sarath Chandra Reddy for the retail zones allotted to him, citing an upfront payment of Rs. 100 crores to the Aam Aadmi Party through Vijay Nair.
The CBI asserted that Kavitha's interrogation was necessary to explore evidence related to her involvement in the criminal conspiracy regarding the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy. Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhary, representing Kavitha, argued against the legality of her arrest, claiming that the evidence presented by the CBI for seeking custody was over a year old, raising questions about the timing of her arrest.
Chaudhary contested the CBI's allegation of Kavitha providing unsatisfactory and evasive replies during interrogation, stating that the evidences lacked relevance to the necessity of her arrest. He further argued that Kavitha, being a prominent political figure, was being unjustly targeted and that due process was not followed in her arrest.
The judge recently denied interim bail to Kavitha in the money laundering case, with her regular bail plea scheduled for hearing on April 20.
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The ED has accused Kavitha of being a key player and beneficiary in the excise policy scam, alleging her involvement in a conspiracy with other members of the South Group to offer kickbacks to AAP leaders in exchange for favourable provisions in the policy.
The ED also alleged that Kavitha orchestrated a deal with the Delhi Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, facilitating kickbacks through intermediaries and middlemen.
