The Delhi High Court on Monday denied bail to Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha in the liquor policy case, Live Law reported.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma rejected Kavitha’s petition seeking bail in cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating allegations of money-laundering linked to the case, had arrested the Telangana MLC in Hyderabad in March. She was later remanded to judicial custody, after which the Central Bureau of Investigation also arrested her in April.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Kavitha, among others, conspired with senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia, to secure favours in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor excise policy of the national capital.
The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s liquor excise policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.
On Monday, the High Court said that Kavitha was prima facie one of the main conspirators in the alleged criminal plot relating to the formulation and implementation of the policy, Live Law reported.
The court also found her prima facie involved in payment of kickbacks, establishing the Indo Spirits company for recoupment of kickbacks and in several activities relating to the proceeds of crime.
The court, therefore, said that the twin conditions for bail under Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act were not fulfilled. According to Section 45 of the Act, bail can be granted to an accused in a money laundering case only if there is prima facie satisfaction that the person has not committed the offence and is unlikely to commit any offence while on bail.
The court also said that Kavitha did not satisfy the triple test for the grant of bail, Live Law reported. The triple test refers to the accused not being a flight risk, not being likely to tamper with evidence or to influence witnesses.
The court noted that while Kavitha was a highly-qualified and an accomplished woman, it cannot ignore the serious allegations made against her, Live Law reported. Therefore, the court said, Kavitha “cannot be equated to a vulnerable woman who may have been misused to commit an offence, which is the class of women for whom the proviso to Section 45 of PMLA has been incorporated”.
Kavitha has also filed a separate petition challenging a trial court order granting the Central Bureau of Investigation to interrogate her while she was in judicial custody in the Enforcement Directorate case.
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