Delhi court extends ED custody of BRS Leader K Kavitha till March 26 in Excise Policy case

A Delhi court on Saturday granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) three more days' custody of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha who was arrested on March 15 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. .Special Judge (PC) Act Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order after hearing special counsel Zoheb Hossain on behalf of the ED and advocate Nitesh Rana on behalf of Kavitha..The ED today sought five more days' custody of Kavitha. However, the court eventually granted only three days, meaning the extended period of ED custody would end on March 26, Tuesday. .On the progress of the probe so far, special counsel Hossain said,"She (Kavitha) has been confronted with statements... We have already mentioned what her role was. She conspired to pay the kickbacks of ₹100 crores. The data in her mobile phone has been extracted and analysed. There is evidence to show that there was deletion of mobile data during ED investigation."Hossain added that the ED had summoned Kavitha's nephew in connection with the case several times as he was allegedly involving in utilising the proceeds of crime. "Since he is not cooperating we are conducting searches at several locations," Hossain said. .Meanwhile, Kavitha's counsel informed the court that she has filed a bail application. The ED's counsel objected to the development, contending that a bail plea cannot be entertained at the present stage of the case. "My lady may hear it on any day when the ED custody ends," Kavitha's counsel, advocate Rana said in response. "This is their strategy. The ED is neck deep in the investigation. They will say on the next date that ED had seven days to reply but didn't," Hossain argued. "Today I am filing it, I am not pressing it. I am saying notice may be issued and it will be kept on the same date as her remand ends," Rana replied. Hossain, however, opposed the issuance of notice in the matter as well. .Kavitha was arrested on March 15 evening from Hyderabad, hours after an ED team searched the premises and interrogated her.On March 16, the Rouse Avenue Court had remanded her to ED custody for a week.On March 22, the Supreme Court denied any urgent relief to her. A special bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi said that she would have to approach the trial court for bail..Notably, on March 22, the Rouse Avenue Court remanded Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to six days ED custody. Kejriwal and Kavitha are some of the most high-profile politicians to be arrested by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case. AAP MP Sanjay Singh and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia are already behind bars in the case. .The allegations against K Kavitha.The ED has claimed Kavitha was linked to a "South Group" lobby of liquor traders who were trying to play a larger role under the now scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.It has been alleged that one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks to the tune of at least ₹100 crores on behalf of AAP leaders from the "South Group", allegedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, K Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.However, Kavitha has claimed that she has done nothing wrong and alleged that the Central government was misusing the ED to gain ground in Telangana.The ED questioned Kavitha thrice in 2023 in this case and again summoned her this year but she did not depose, citing a Supreme Court direction that allowed her protection from any coercive action.