SC denies bail to BRS leader K Kavitha in Delhi excise policy case
Supreme Court asks her to approach the trial court
NEW DELHI: In a setback to BRS leader K Kavitha, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant her bail in the money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The development came a day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the same case.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi asked Kavitha to approach the trial court, saying it is a practice which this court is following and cannot bypass the protocol.
“Issue notice. Counter affidavit shall be filed in six weeks. Rejoinder, if any, in six weeks. It will be open to the petitioner to move the trial court or invoke any other remedy for grant of bail,” the bench said, adding all pleas and contentions available to the petitioner are left open.
It clarified that the court has not made any comments on merits of the case.
The bench said as far as Kavitha’s plea challenging the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is concerned, the court is issuing notice to the ED and seeking its response.
“The petition challenging the provisions (of PMLA) will come up with the pending matters,” the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Kavitha.
At the outset, Sibal told the bench that he has one request to the court that he should not be asked to go to the high court. “Please see what is happening in our country. People are being arrested on the basis of an approver’s statement. I am very upset,” he said.
The bench told Sibal, “As a counsel, you should never be upset. Don’t be so emotional. Main writ petition can be put up for hearing with other petitions (pending matters) in July. As far as bail is concerned, we are very clear, you have to go to the trial court.”
When Sibal referred to the arrest of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and other political leaders, the bench asked him not to make political statements.
“We have been very clear and uniformly following this practice in this bench. All of us in principle agree we should not, because there is a political person or someone who can directly afford to come to the Supreme Court, bypass all the statutory and constitutional forums,” the bench said.
Sibal then referred the statement made by the ED in the court last year in September that she is not an accused.