Excise Case: Delhi Court allows BRS leader K Kavitha's application for her physical production before court

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court on Monday allowed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha's application, seeking direction to the Central Agencies to produce her physically on May 7, before the concerned Court.

The Special Judge Kaveri Baweja on Monday allowed Kavitha's plea.

K Kavitha along with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and two others are scheduled to be produced before the court as their judicial custody ends tomorrow, May 7, 2024.

Recently, the same court had directed the Tihar Jail Authorities to Produce K Kavitha and others through video conferencing.

However now, the BRS leader K Kavitha will be produced physically before the court tomorrow.

In the application filed by BRS Leader K Kavitha, she stated "The applicant should be produced before this Court on May 7 in both the cases i.e., CBI and ED. It was submitted that the Applicant wishes to appear physically rather than appearing virtually in both cases. It is submitted that the Applicant was arrested on March 15 and since then been in the custody of ED/CBI. The custody expires on May 7, and the Respondent agency shall produce the Applicant on the same date before this Court. This Applicant wishes to appear physically."

Earlier in the day, the Court had dismissed the bail petitions moved by K Kavitha in connection with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases related to the Excise policy case.

Through plea, K Kavitha alleged that the ruling party in the Centre is using investigative agencies to publicly connect the petitioner to the Delhi Excise policy so that further coercive actions can be taken against her. The investigating agencies are well aware that there is no substance to the allegation of the petitioner's involvement in the alleged scam.

The intention behind the purported investigation against the petitioner is not to ascertain her involvement in the alleged scam, since it is painfully clear that none exists.

"The political masterminds are well aware that if the petitioner can be connected to the alleged scam, it will bring her, and by logical implication, her father, the erstwhile Chief Minister of Telangana, into disrepute. The political mileage gained from such actions can be used in the general elections scheduled for 2024. This is the sole and singular motive of the purported investigation. This is political propaganda at its shameful lowest, even by the not-so-high standards in Indian politics," the bail plea stated.

BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 15, 2024 and by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 11, 2024.

Earlier, CBI through remand application stated that "Kavitha Kalvakuntla was required to be arrested in the instant case to conduct her custodial interrogation for confronting her with the evidence and witnesses to unearth the larger conspiracy hatched among the accused, suspect persons regarding the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy, as well as to establish the money trail of ill-gotten money generated and to establish the role of other accused/suspect persons, including public servants, as well as to unearth the facts which are in her exclusive knowledge."

"The CBI inquiry was recommended based on the findings of the Delhi Chief Secretary's report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010," officials said.

The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy, undue favors were extended to license holders, the license fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 license was extended without the competent authority's approval.

The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection, the probe agencies said.

As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the earnest money deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules.

Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered license fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19, the probe agency said and there was an alleged loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer.