‘Powerful enough to influence witnesses’: ED, CBI oppose K Kavitha’s bail pleas, Delhi High Court reserves verdict

Among various arguments made, the CBI counsel said that Kavitha is a “key conspirator of the ‘South Group’ and she heads it”, which is backed by evidence and documents. Arguing that the case has unfolded in a phased manner over time, the agency’s counsel said that Kavitha’s arrest became mandatory in view of “all the evidence that had come” in the form of documents, chats, and witness statements.

“The arrest was necessary… It is not just about her being a woman, but being a woman in power. It is about a woman who is playing a key role where all these people are working at her behest. She is powerful enough to influence witnesses. One witness even said that he was called and threatened, and that statement is there. The question is that in today’s world, it is not always that a woman is to be granted bail… rather it has to be seen in the facts and circumstances of each case, whether she deserves the benefit of being a woman,” the counsel said.

The CBI counsel further said that what has to be seen in the case is the “severity of allegations”, the proposition that she can “influence witnesses”. “She is in a position of power, there is no doubt about it. She is a beneficiary also,” the counsel added.

The ED counsel, Zoheb Hossain, meanwhile, said that a co-accused in the money laundering case — Hyderabad businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai — had given a statement on November 11, 2022, which was sought to be retracted on a “fantastic ground of ‘coercion’ after 118 days (three months and 28 days)” by filing an application in March 2023. The central probe agency has alleged that Kavitha has influenced the co-accused in the case to withdraw their statements given under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Section 50.

Hossain said that Pillai was arrested on March 6, 2023, and produced before the special court on March 7, 2023, but he never mentioned or raised any concern back then that he was “coerced”. He said that in Pillai’s retraction application filed on March 9, 2023, there is not a single allegation of any kind of violence or threat of violence or use of physical force, and there is only a “vague allegation” of “coercion” without any material particulars whatsoever.

“It is quite bizarre that it took 118 days to realise that he (Pillai) was coerced or was there some intervening event which led to his retraction? It is apparent that the applicant (Kavitha), herein, wields considerable influence insofar as the first summons issued to her was on 07.03.2023 for her personal appearance on 09.03.2023, which clearly prompted Pillai to file an application for retraction on the same day i.e. 09.03.2023,” the ED reply states.

Hossain said that the Supreme Court had held that “if you have not sought to retract at the first available opportunity, it raises serious questions over the credibility of the retraction”.

Kavitha, who is a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, has been under the scanner of the central investigating agencies for almost two years now. She was arrested by the ED from Hyderabad on March 15. Following this, she was arrested by the CBI in the corruption case on April 11. Kavitha is currently in judicial custody in both the cases.

The CBI has alleged that Kavitha met co-accused Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy in March 2021 and told him that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had allegedly spoken to her and demanded Rs 100 crore. She had allegedly also asked Reddy to arrange Rs 50 crore.

In its prosecution complaints (equivalent to chargesheets), the ED has claimed that members of the so-called ‘South Group’ that Kavitha was associated with had also paid bribes to exploit the loopholes in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy to secure their uninhibited access to various wholesale businesses and retail zones, in violation of the rules.