Supreme Court Grants Bail To K Kavitha, Raps Probe Agencies

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted conditional bail to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in both the ED and CBI cases linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. She is the third high-profile leader to be granted bail in the case after AAP leaders Manisha Sisodia and Sanjay Singh.

Noting that the trial in the case would take a long time to conclude, a similar observation was made while granting bail to Manish Sisodia, the Supreme Court said K Kavitha was entitled to beneficial treatment available to women under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Supreme Court questioned the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation's "fairness" as they investigated opposition politicians in this matter.

Kavitha, who has been lodged at Tihar Jail for five months, was arrested by the ED on March 15 in Hyderabad amid high drama. The CBI also subsequently arrested her on April 11.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan noted that Kavitha has been in custody for around five months and the probe against her by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate was complete in these cases.

“The appellant is behind bars for close to five months; the likelihood of trial being completed in the near future is impossible,” the SC bench observed, recording the submissions made by the central probe agencies. “The perusal of the proviso reveals that it permits certain categories of accused, including women, to be released on bail without meeting twin test. It will all depend on the facts and circumstances of each case, but when a stature specially provides such benefit, the court will have to give specific reasons to deny it.”

The court added: “We, therefore, find that single judge misdirected in denying the benefit of proviso.” The top court set aside a July 1 Delhi High Court order denying her bail. Court strongly objected to the Delhi High Court rejecting Ms Kavitha's plea -on grounds she is an educated woman. 

Ms Kavitha's brother, BRS Working President KT Rama Rao, was in court when bail was granted. The court has imposed various conditions on Ms Kavitha, including directing her to not tamper with evidence or influence witnesses. She has also been told to pay bail bonds of ₹ 10 lakh - one for the ED and another for the CBI cases - and surrender her passport.