On Monday, the Delhi High Court denied BRS leader K Kavitha’s bail requests in two cases involving corruption and money laundering related to the alleged excise policy scam.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma rejected Kavitha’s bail petitions after having reserved the decision on May 28. A detailed order is yet to be issued.
Kavitha had challenged the trial court’s May 6 decision, which rejected her bail applications in both the CBI’s corruption case and the ED’s money laundering case.
Kavitha’s lawyer argued that she is the only woman among the 50 accused in the excise case and requested the court to consider granting her bail, as the law treats women differently.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed Kavitha’s bail pleas, arguing that she is influential enough to sway witnesses.
Kavitha remains in judicial custody for both cases. The alleged scam involves corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy, which was later withdrawn.
The ED arrested Kavitha, 46, at her Banjara Hills home in Hyderabad on March 15, and the CBI later arrested her in Tihar jail. In her bail plea regarding the ED case, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader, who is also the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, claimed she had no involvement with the excise policy and alleged a criminal conspiracy against her orchestrated by the ruling party at the Centre with the ED’s cooperation.