A special court in Delhi extended the judicial custody of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha until May 20 in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. The court said that it would take the matter related to the supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 20.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED again implicated Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, and others in a new 220-page charge sheet that was filed with the special court on May 10. On Tuesday, Justice Kaveri Baweja heard the arguments related to the fresh charge sheet and extended her custody.
In its latest charge sheet, the ED once again named Damodar Sharma, Prince Kumar, and Chanpreet Singh Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd, the company that oversaw the Aam Admi Party’s (AAP) Goa campaign, and Arvind Singh, a former employee of India Ahead news channel who were accused in the case.
Kavitha is currently facing legal proceedings under two separate cases registered one by the ED and the other by the CBI, related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi liquor policy.
Kavitha approached the Delhi High Court after the special court on May 6, rejected all her bail pleas citing the seriousness of the allegations and the gravity of the offence. The Delhi HC on May 10, issued a notice to the ED regarding Kavitha's bail, setting the next hearing for May 24. K Kavitha has also moved a bail plea in the Delhi High Court in the CBI case.
Kavitha was arrested by the ED on March 15 from her residence in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. According to the ED, Kavitha is one of the key conspirators and allegedly paid kickbacks worth ₹100 crore to the AAP in exchange for a significant share of liquor licenses in Delhi under the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
A total of 18 people have been arrested in the case so far, including Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Delhi CM Manish Sisodia, several AAP leaders, Kavitha, and others. On May 10, Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail after spending 50 days in jail following the Supreme Court's order granting him interim bail.