India’s Supreme Court grants bail to party leader in connection with Delhi tax scandal – JURIST

The Supreme Court of India granted bail to Kalvakuntla Kavitha, the leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, on Tuesday in the money laundering case related to the Delhi liquor scandal after the Supreme Court rejected her bail application on July 1, 2024.

Agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Board of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against Kavitha for money laundering and corruption following an alleged excise scam. As a result of the scam, many prominent political leaders of the state, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party colleague Manish Sisodia, also came under the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies.

While accepting Kavitha’s bail plea, the Supreme Court strongly criticised the apparent bias of the ED and the CBI in their “selective approach in naming some of the accused as approvers”. According to LiveLaw, the court said it raised questions for the authorities as to why the accused was still in custody when the investigation in the case has been completed, the chargesheet has been filed and custodial interrogation is no longer required. The court stressed that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, and particularly highlighted the likely lengthy trials in the present case, in which nearly 493 witnesses have to be examined and the evidence documents run into nearly 50,000 pages.

While rejecting Kavitha’s bail application on July 1, the Delhi High Court invoked Section 45(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which gives special consideration to women in granting bail in money laundering offences. The Supreme Court rejected the bail application under Section 45(1), observing that she was not a “vulnerable” woman and was therefore not entitled to special consideration in the bail application.

Kavitha was arrested by the ED on March 15 and later remanded by the CBI. She has been in judicial custody since then. Delhi Chief Minister, who was arrested in the same alleged liquor scam case, was granted bail by the Supreme Court. Moreover, Kejriwal’s party colleague and one of the most prominent opposition leaders, Manish Sisodia, was also granted bail by the Supreme Court on August 10 after spending 17 months in judicial custody.