NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked on the fairness of the probe conducted by the central agencies, asking if they were free to “pick and choose” an accused.
The court made the observation as it granted bail to BRS leader K Kavitha in corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
“We will have to observe about the fairness and impartiality of the investigating agencies,” it said, adding, “If you want those observations, you argue more”.
Kavitha has been in jail for over five months. The bench noted that Kavitha’s custody was no longer required as both the CBI and ED had completed their investigations against her.
The bench, consisting of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan, observed that since 493 witnesses were to be examined and 50,000 pages of documents were to be considered in the two cases, there was no likelihood of the trial concluding in the near future.
The court directed Kavitha to be released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs 10 lakh in each case. Later, a Delhi court issued release warrants for Kavitha, facilitating her release from jail.
The apex court set conditions for Kavitha’s bail, including not tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses, depositing her passport with the trial judge, regularly attending trial court proceedings, and cooperating to ensure expeditious disposal of the trial. The court also criticized the federal agencies’ investigation, with the bench saying, “Sorry to see this state of affairs”.
The bench dealt with the high court’s observations on whether Kavitha was entitled to benefit from the proviso to section 45 of the PMLA, being a woman. The high court noted that the proviso provides an exception to the general rule if the accused is a woman. However, the apex court found that the high court had “totally misdirected” itself while denying the benefit of the proviso to Kavitha.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kavitha, argued that the probe against her was complete, and the charge sheet and prosecution complaint had already been filed. He also referred to the August 9 apex court verdict granting bail to co-accused and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the two cases. The ED had arrested Kavitha on March 15, and the CBI arrested her on April 11.
Kavitha has been accused of being part of the ‘South Group’, a cartel of businessmen and politicians, which allegedly paid kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to Delhi’s ruling AAP in return for liquor licenses, a claim she has denied.
The court made the observation as it granted bail to BRS leader K Kavitha in corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
“We will have to observe about the fairness and impartiality of the investigating agencies,” it said, adding, “If you want those observations, you argue more”.
Kavitha has been in jail for over five months. The bench noted that Kavitha’s custody was no longer required as both the CBI and ED had completed their investigations against her.
The bench, consisting of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan, observed that since 493 witnesses were to be examined and 50,000 pages of documents were to be considered in the two cases, there was no likelihood of the trial concluding in the near future.
The court directed Kavitha to be released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs 10 lakh in each case. Later, a Delhi court issued release warrants for Kavitha, facilitating her release from jail.
The apex court set conditions for Kavitha’s bail, including not tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses, depositing her passport with the trial judge, regularly attending trial court proceedings, and cooperating to ensure expeditious disposal of the trial. The court also criticized the federal agencies’ investigation, with the bench saying, “Sorry to see this state of affairs”.
The bench dealt with the high court’s observations on whether Kavitha was entitled to benefit from the proviso to section 45 of the PMLA, being a woman. The high court noted that the proviso provides an exception to the general rule if the accused is a woman. However, the apex court found that the high court had “totally misdirected” itself while denying the benefit of the proviso to Kavitha.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kavitha, argued that the probe against her was complete, and the charge sheet and prosecution complaint had already been filed. He also referred to the August 9 apex court verdict granting bail to co-accused and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the two cases. The ED had arrested Kavitha on March 15, and the CBI arrested her on April 11.
Kavitha has been accused of being part of the ‘South Group’, a cartel of businessmen and politicians, which allegedly paid kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to Delhi’s ruling AAP in return for liquor licenses, a claim she has denied.