Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha made an appearance before the Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital on Saturday concerning the alleged Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. Kavitha, a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) and the daughter of BRS founder and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was taken into custody following a day-long interrogation and a subsequent raid at her residence in Hyderabad on Friday.
Before her court appearance, Kavitha expressed to reporters that she considered her arrest to be illegal. She was then presented before the court of special judge MK Nagpal at the Rouse Avenue court.
In the arrest order issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation officer, it was stated, “I have reason to believe that Smt. Kalvakuntla Kavitha, wife of Mr. D R Anil Kumar, residing at H. No. 8-2316/S/H, Road No 14, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana-500034, has committed an offence punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003).” The officer further noted that Kavitha was arrested at 05:20 pm on 15.03.2024 and was informed of the grounds for her arrest. Additionally, a copy of the grounds of arrest, consisting of 14 pages, was provided to her.
This action by the ED transpired nearly two months after issuing a summons to the 45-year-old BRS leader. Kavitha had been interrogated three times in this case last year, with her statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In a separate development earlier on the same day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital regarding the Enforcement Directorate’s summons case. The court later granted him bail in both complaints filed by the Enforcement Directorate. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra granted bail to Kejriwal on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 and a surety of Rs 1 lakh.
Kejriwal’s appearance in court followed a summons issued to him by the court based on two ED complaints related to the Delhi Excise Policy case. The Rouse Avenue Court had reserved an order on the stay of summons issued to Kejriwal on complaints filed by the ED earlier on Friday.
