K Kavitha’s Custody Extended by Delhi Court in ED Case on March 23

Delhi court has extended the custody of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha until March 26, following a request from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a five-day extension.

The ED advocate informed the court that data from Kavitha’s mobile phone had been extracted and analyzed, revealing evidence of deleted mobile data during the ED’s investigation. Additionally, searches were being conducted at the residence of Kavitha’s nephew in Hyderabad.

Judge Kaveri Bajwa ordered the ED to present Kavitha before the court on Tuesday at 11 am.

Prior to the court proceedings, Kavitha spoke to a news agency, asserting that her arrest was illegal and vowed to challenge it in court. She labeled the case as political and fabricated, reiterating her determination to fight it out in court.

Earlier, on Friday, the Supreme Court had declined to grant bail to Kavitha in the money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The Court directed her to approach the trial court, emphasizing that it was following protocol.

The Supreme Court also issued notice to the ED regarding Kavitha’s plea challenging the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The bench instructed senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Kavitha, that the petition challenging the PMLA provisions would be considered along with other pending matters.

On March 19, the ED had accused Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, of conspiring with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and transferring Rs 100 crore to the party in exchange for favorable treatment in the now-defunct Delhi excise policy.

Kavitha had been questioned three times last year by the ED in connection with the matter, and was summoned again this year, but she refused to testify, citing a Supreme Court directive granting her protection from coercive measures.

The ED alleged that Kavitha was a key figure and a significant conspirator in the Delhi excise policy scandal, claiming that she and her associates were attempting to recover funds paid in advance to the AAP for additional profits. The agency argued in court that Kavitha was a major beneficiary of the fraudulent scheme.

Meanwhile, Kavitha accused the Central government of using the ED to further its political agenda in Telangana. The AAP, on the other hand, accused the BJP of deploying the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as its “goons” to target political opponents.