BRS Leader K. Kavitha Granted Bail in Delhi Excise Policy Scam Case

K. Kavitha, a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has been granted bail in the Delhi Excise Policy Scam case. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered her release on bail in both the CBI and ED cases, leading to her release from Tihar Jail. K. Kavitha has been accused of involvement in corruption and money laundering. The Supreme Court questioned the fairness of the investigation and criticized the agencies for selective prosecution. The court also disapproved of the investigation agencies’ “pick and choose” approach towards the accused.

The agencies argued that K. Kavitha tampered with evidence, formatting or changing her phone and deleting messages. However, the court noted that this is not a crime, emphasizing that a phone is a personal item and people often delete messages.

K. Kavitha had been in Tihar Jail for five months, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 15 from her residence in Hyderabad. Later, the CBI also arrested her on April 11. K. Kavitha sought bail from the Supreme Court in both cases, after her previous petition was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on July 1. She then challenged this decision in the Supreme Court.

A bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan heard the case. During the hearing, the prosecution, represented by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, argued that K. Kavitha deleted text messages from her mobile phone, formatted or changed the phone, and gave it to her servant before buying a new one. In June, investigators had alleged that she deleted data from eight mobile phones and formatted one of them.

However, K. Kavitha denied these allegations. Her lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, dismissed the charges as false, arguing that she was first summoned by the ED on March 7, 2023, but the allegation of destroying her phone was made in November 2022. He questioned how she could be accused of destroying evidence four months before being summoned. Rohatgi asserted that K. Kavitha had upgraded her phone and given the old one to her staff, a common practice.

The investigation agency’s lawyer countered, questioning why she would give an iPhone to a servant. The agency also raised concerns about messages being deleted from a phone she allegedly used for four months. However, the Supreme Court disagreed with the agency’s arguments. Justice Viswanathan noted that a phone is a private item and that people often delete messages for various reasons. The court emphasized that normal human behavior, such as deleting messages, should be considered.

The prosecution further argued that while people might delete messages, they typically do not delete photos, contacts, or call history. ASG Raju stated that the formatting of K. Kavitha’s phone amounted to tampering with evidence. In response, Justice Gavai asked what evidence existed to prove that she destroyed crucial evidence. The court found that simply formatting a phone was not sufficient to establish a prima facie case against K. Kavitha.

On What Grounds Did the Supreme Court Grant Bail?

The double bench granted K. Kavitha bail, noting that there are 493 witnesses to be interrogated and 50,000 pages of documents to be reviewed, making it unlikely that the trial would conclude soon. The court concluded that K. Kavitha’s custody was no longer necessary, as the agencies had completed their investigation against her. The court imposed conditions on her bail, requiring her to post a bond of ₹10 lakh in both cases, not tamper with evidence or influence witnesses, and surrender her passport to the trial judge. She must also regularly attend trial court proceedings.

Court Criticizes Investigation Agencies

During the hearing, the court sharply criticized the investigation agencies for their approach to witnesses, questioning the fairness of making a person who confessed to guilt a witness instead of an accused. K. Kavitha’s lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, pointed out that Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, a South Indian liquor businessman, had confessed to guilt but was made a witness, while his son Raghav Magunta was accused. The court expressed its dismay, noting that such selective prosecution raised concerns about fairness.

K. Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, has been accused of involvement in the Delhi liquor scam. The investigation agencies allege that she was part of a South Lobby—a group of liquor businessmen and politicians—and that she allegedly paid a ₹100 crore bribe to the ruling AAP in Delhi in exchange for a liquor license. K. Kavitha has denied all allegations.