K Kavitha to Remain in Custody Till May 7, As Delhi Court Denies Bail to BRS Leader

New Delhi: K Kavitha, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader will remain in jail after a Delhi court rejected her bail application on Monday. K Kavitha is in judicial custody in two cases - corruption and money laundering - in connection with the Delhi liquor scam of the then excise policy. The cases are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The 46-year-old K Kavitha was arrested by ED on March 15, 2024 from her home in Hyderabad’s posh Banjara Hills. She has been in judicial custody ever since. K Kavitha is the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.

As per Live Law, the CBI alleged that businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy participated in the liquor business in Delhi under the controversial excise policy on K Kavitha's behest. She had promised him contacts in the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government. 

Further, Kavitha allegedly promised Reddy of helping him in the business, and asked him to pay Rs.25 crore at the rate of Rs.5 crore per zone in 2021 This was reportedly in exchange for the 5 retail zones allotted to him. Kavitha claimed to have paid Rs.100 crore upfront to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) through Vijay Nair for getting preference in the excise policy.

PTI reports that Kaveri Baweja, Special Judge for CBI and ED of Rouse Avenue Courts, dismissed Kavitha’s bail applications in both cases, on grounds that the stage was not right to grant the relief.

Kavitha’s lawyer Advocate Nitesh Rana opposed the police plea, saying the “grounds were not sufficient to keep her in custody since she is no longer required for custodial interrogation”.

The CBI told the court on May 6 that K Kavitha was not required any further for custodial interrogation. The investigation agency had questioned the BRS leader in custody. 

Kavitha was interrogated about the WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu's phone. She was also questioned about documents related to a controversial land deal, which resulted in an amount of Rs 100 crore being allegedly transferred to AAP to get the excise policy in favour of a particular liquor lobby.

K Kavitha’s judicial custody has been extended till May 7, 2024. It is not known yet if there is another hearing in the case soon.