On Monday, a Delhi Court denied interim bail to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in the money laundering case related to the now scrapped Delhi liquor excise policy.
Kavitha had moved the application citing her 16-year-old son’s exams and a provision in the anti-money laundering law favouring release of a female accused on bail.
The court dismissed her application after it reserved her verdict on April 4.
Earlier, on April 4, the BRS leader contended that she should be granted bail under the proviso to Section 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) that allows the court to release female accused on bail, bypassing the usual stringent bail conditions of the PMLA.
ED opposed the bail plea on grounds that the exception for women under the proviso to Section 45 of PMLA is intended for women who lack agency, and not to someone like Kavitha who is a prominent politician.
Zoheb Hossain, special public prosecutor for ED, also said that Kavitha had destroyed evidence, including data on her mobile phone, which was evident from forensic reports. Regarding Kavitha’s son’s exams, Hossain pointed out that seven out of twelve papers were already completed, and that the 16-year-old boy had family members.
Kavitha was arrested by the ED on March 15 and has been in judicial custody at Tihar Jail since March 26.
