Supreme Court grants bail to K Kavitha in Delhi excise policy case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to BRS MLC K Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy case. The court pulled up the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate over the nature of the probe being conducted in the case.

K Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar, has been in custody since March 15.

What happened during the hearing?

During the hearing, the Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan asked the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI to show what "material" they had to prove that K Kavitha was involved in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for K Kavitha, sought bail saying the probe against her had 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.

Additional solicitor general SV Raju, appearing for the probe agencies, said K Kavitha had formatted her mobile phone. He alleged her behaviour amounted to tampering with evidence.

K Kavitha's lawyer called the allegation “bogus”.

Later, the bench asked the tough question to the agencies' lawyer.

"What is the material to show that she was involved in the crime," it asked Raju.

What is K Kavitha accused of?

On August 12, the Supreme Court had asked the agencies to file their responses to the politician's plea challenging the Delhi high court order denying her bail.

The high court had dismissed Kavitha's bail pleas in both cases, saying she was prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy.

The agencies have accused K Kavitha of being part of the so-called South Group – a group of businessmen and politicians who allegedly paid the Aam Aadmi Party kickbacks worth ?100 crore in return for favouring them in the formulation and implementation of the policy.

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh had been in jail over similar charges. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whom the agencies call the kingpin of the alleged scam, has been in jail since March 21.

With inputs from PTI