SC grants bail to K Kavitha in Delhi liquor policy case, questions fairness of CBI-ED investigation

By Sunita Iyer | First Published Aug 27, 2024, 1:16 PM IST

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to K Kavitha, a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, in connection with the money laundering and corruption cases linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

During the hearing, Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan questioned the fairness of the prosecution agencies, namely the CBI and ED, and criticized their selective approach, particularly in how some accused were treated as approvers.

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"Prosecution has to be fair. A person who incriminates himself has been made a witness! Tomorrow you pick up anyone as you please? You cannot pick and choose any accused. What is this fairness? Very fair and reasonable discretion!!" Justice Gavai observed during the hearing.

Justice Gavai cautioned Additional Solicitor General of India SV Raju that if he continued to oppose the bail on merits, the Court would include critical observations in its order. Following nearly an hour of arguments, ASG Raju chose to refrain from further submissions and even suggested he might concede to bail after consulting with his superiors. The bench, however, decided not to adjourn the hearing and proceeded to dictate the order.

The Court’s order did not include a detailed analysis of evidence. It noted that the investigation is complete and chargesheets have been filed in both the CBI and ED cases. With around 493 witnesses and nearly 50,000 pages of documentary evidence, the trials are expected to be lengthy. The bench reiterated its stance from the Manish Sisodia case that undertrial detention should not amount to punishment. Additionally, the Court emphasized that Section 45(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act provides for special consideration of women in bail matters. It disagreed with the Delhi High Court’s view that this provision does not apply to women of high status.

"The Courts while deciding such matters must exercise their discretion judiciously. The Court does not say that merely because a woman is sophisiticated or a Member of Parliament or Member of Legislative Council is not entitled to the benefit of proviso to Section 45 of the PMLA Act. We find that the learned singe bench totally misdirected itself..," the Court observed in the order.

The Court granted bail to K Kavitha in both cases upon furnishing sureties of Rs 10 lakhs each. The Court also instructed her to deposit her passport and not to attempt to influence or intimidate the sureties.

Kavitha was arrested by the ED on the evening of March 15 and has been in custody since. She was subsequently arrested by the CBI while already in judicial custody related to the ED case.

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