The Supreme Court, with Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan presiding, has scheduled the matter for a hearing on August 27. This follows the court’s request on August 12 for responses from the CBI and ED regarding Kavitha’s challenges to a July 1 Delhi High Court decision that denied her bail.
![[Breaking] Excise Policy Case: Will File Response to K Kavitha's Bail Plea by Aug 22, ED Tells Supreme court](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-174.png?resize=820%2C524&ssl=1)
NEW DELHI: Today(August 20, 2024): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Supreme Court that it will submit its response to BRS leader K Kavitha’s bail application related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scandal by August 22.
During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), noted that the CBI’s counter affidavit had already been submitted. He added that the ED’s affidavit is currently being prepared and will be filed by the specified date.
The Supreme Court, with Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan presiding, has scheduled the matter for a hearing on August 27. This follows the court’s request on August 12 for responses from the CBI and ED regarding Kavitha’s challenges to a July 1 Delhi High Court decision that denied her bail.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kavitha, argued that she has been in jail for the past five months and is entitled to bail.
He also contended that Kavitha’s situation is analogous to that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, both of whom have been granted bail by the Supreme Court—Kejriwal receiving interim bail and Sisodia being granted regular bail.
![[Breaking] Excise Policy Case: Will File Response to K Kavitha's Bail Plea by Aug 22, ED Tells Supreme court](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-69-1.png?resize=820%2C492&ssl=1)
The high court’s earlier ruling noted that the investigation was at a “crucial stage” and therefore, no case for granting regular bail was established at this time.
The court rejected Kavitha’s plea for bail on the grounds of her gender, stating that as a
“well-educated person and a former MP, could not be considered a vulnerable female.”
The High Court had rejected Kavitha’s bail applications, stating that she appeared to be a primary conspirator in the criminal activities related to the now-defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22
The court further emphasized that it could not overlook the “serious allegations” against her.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Seeks ED, CBI Response to K Kavitha Bail Plea in Delhi Excise Policy Case
In its ruling, the high court asserted,
“This court is of the opinion that K Kavitha was prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy hatched in relation to formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.”
Both the CBI and the ED have initiated separate investigations into alleged corruption and money laundering associated with the policy’s implementation.
Kavitha was arrested by the ED on March 15 at her Hyderabad residence and later by the CBI on April 11 at Tihar jail in connection with these allegations. She has consistently denied all charges.
The court pointed out that material collected by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicated that Kavitha played a central role in the conspiracy surrounding the policy’s creation and execution.
Kavitha had previously challenged the May 6 order of a trial court that dismissed her bail applications in both the CBI’s corruption case and the ED’s money-laundering case. The allegations against her stem from purported corruption and money laundering activities in connection with the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.
The ED arrested Kavitha, 46, from her residence in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, on March 15. Following her arrest, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also took her into custody while she was in Tihar Jail.
In her bail plea filed in the high court concerning the ED case, Kavitha argued that she had “nothing to do” with the excise policy and claimed that the case against her was part of a “criminal conspiracy” orchestrated by the ruling party at the Centre, in collusion with the ED.
