Supreme Court grants bail to BRS leader Kavitha in Delhi Excise Policy case
Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam, which is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Kavitha was in Tihar jail for the past five months.
The decision came after the Apex Court found that the lower court had misapplied legal provisions in denying her bail. The decision was delivered by a bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kavitha, argued that with 493 witnesses, 50,000 pages of documents, and 57 accused in both the ED and CBI cases, there is no risk of her fleeing, as she is a sitting MLC and sought bail in both the ED and CBI cases in the matter. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Raju arguing for the CBI and ED, opposed her bail application and countered that beneficial provisions should not apply to Kavitha.
The Apex court observed that the “investigation is complete and a chargesheet has been filed. Custody of the appellant is not necessary. She has been behind bars for 5 months. The likelihood of a trial being concluded in the near future is impossible”.
Further, the Supreme Court, in its bail order, clarified that it did not intend to delve into the merits of the case, as suggested by the ASG. The bench noted that the prosecution’s reliance was largely on the statements of a co-accused who had been granted a pardon and turned approver.
Apex Court disagrees with lower court order
However, the Supreme Court disagreed with the lower court’s reasoning. The Supreme Court observes as follows, “Day in day out this court says no accused should be treated differently. However, a learned single judge while denying relief under 45 comes to a heartening conclusion that appellant has made significant contributions and social work. Court while recording her accomplishments said it cannot lose sight of serious allegations and proceeded to observe that the present appellant cannot be a vulnerable woman. We find that the learned single judge has totally misdirected herself in applying the provision”.
In its order, the Supreme Court set aside the lower court’s decision and directed Kavitha’s immediate release on bail. The Court ordered that Kavitha to be released forthwith on submitting bail bonds of Rs 10 lakhs each in both cases, shall not tamper with evidence or influence proceedings. Kavitha was ordered to surrender her passport and regularly report to the investigating agencies.
BRS MLC Kavitha gets a bail in Delhi Liquor Policy Case.
She has been in jail for 166days
493 witnesses
50000 documents of evidence
No proceeds of crime recoveredSC questioned fairness of ED/CBI for its investigation in making some persons accused & some others approvers. https://t.co/w6Gm9W1YrP
— Naveena (@TheNaveena) August 27, 2024
