Delhi excise policy case: High Court dismisses K Kavitha’s bail pleas in ED and CBI probes
K Kavitha was "prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy hatched in relation to formulation and implementation” of Delhi excise policy, said the HC.
BRS legislator K Kavitha. (File photo) The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the bail pleas of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha in the two cases of corruption and money laundering linked to the alleged excise policy scam in the national capital.
In the 41-page order, a single judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said, “It is heartening to note that the applicant Smt K Kavitha, is a highly qualified and well-accomplished person, having made significant contributions to politics and social work as enlisted by her in her pleadings. The same was not disputed by the investigating agencies. Her educational qualification and the activities she has enlisted for the betterment of society in the State of Telangana are essentially, one side of herself and are impressive. However, while deciding the present bail applications, though this Court may appreciate these accomplishments, it cannot lose sight of serious allegations levelled by the prosecution and the evidence collected during the course of the investigation and presented before this Court, which prima facie reveal her role in the offence in question”.
On the point that under the proviso to Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the case of a woman accused is to be treated at a different footing and Kavitha can be enlarged on bail, the high court observed, “…The material collected by the Directorate of Enforcement [ED] has pointed out that the applicant (Kavitha) was one of the chief conspirators in the entire conspiracy relating to the formulation and implementation of the new Excise Policy of Delhi. In fact, some other accused persons were working on behalf of the applicant and as per her instructions, as noted in the preceding discussion”.
The court said Kavitha cannot be “equated to a vulnerable woman who may have been misused to commit an offence” which is the class of women for whom the proviso to Section 45 of PMLA has been incorporated, as held by the Supreme Court in Saumya Chaurasia vs Directorate of Enforcement. The court said Kavitha is therefore not entitled to the benefit of the proviso to Section 45 of PMLA for the grant of bail.
After perusing the material placed on record by ED, including the statements of witnesses recorded under PMLA Section 50, statements of approvers recorded under Section 164 of CrPC, documentary evidence collected by the investigating agencies including the recovery of chats, etc, the Delhi High Court was of the view that a “prima facie case of commission of money laundering” against Kavitha was made out.
The high court said that it “prima facie” appeared from the material collected by ED that Kavitha was involved in various processes and activities relating to the proceeds of crime. It said that even considering the broad probabilities of the case, the court “cannot reach a conclusion” that the BRS legislator is “not guilty of the offence of money laundering, at this stage for the purpose of deciding the bail application”.
Thereafter, the high court concluded that the twin conditions under PMLA Section 45 were not fulfilled to entitle Kavitha to the grant of bail in the ED case.
In the CBI case, the high court referred to the statement of Magunta S Reddy recorded under CrPC Section 164, which the court said revealed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had informed him that Kavitha “had met him earlier and had offered to pay Rs. 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party for the purpose of doing liquor business in Delhi”.
Reddy, the court noted, further stated that Kejriwal “had assured him support and had informed him” Kavitha would follow up with him regarding the same.
“Thereafter, K Kavitha had contacted Sh Magunta S. Reddy on 19.03.2021 and had arranged a meeting with him at her Hyderabad residence where she had requested Rs. 50 crore in exchange for business partnership and support, out of a total upfront amount of Rs. 100 crore. As per the statement of Sh. Magunta S. Reddy, he was told by…Kavitha that she had met Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, who had asked her to arrange Rs. 100 crore. The Chartered Accountant of…Kavitha i.e. Sh. Buchi Babu had then met Sh. Magunta S. Reddy on 21.03.2021 at his residence and demanded the said amount of money, which eventually led to payments of Rs. 25 crore being made in instalments to the associates of Ms K Kavitha ie Sh Buchi Babu and Sh Abhishek Boinpally in June 2021. This resulted in the Sh. Magunta S. Reddy’s son, Sh Raghav Magunta acquiring a 32.5% partnership in the wholesale liquor firm M/s Indo Spirits…” the Order notes.
The high court referred to the statements of approver Dinesh Arora, evidence in the form of chat retrieved from Buchi Babu’s phone and the fact that the investigation revealed that Sharath Chandra Reddy’s participation in Delhi’s liquor business was “influenced” by Kavitha’s assurances. The court said that given the material collected by CBI, Kavitha was “prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy hatched in relation to formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22”.
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