Delhi Liquor Scam Case: ED writes to Kavitha, seeking to extract data from deposited phones

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate joint director on Tuesday wrote to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha stating that they would open the mobile phones deposited by her. The ED authorities wanted either Kavitha to attend or send her representative to the ED office. The BRS leader has sent her party man general secretary Soma Bharat to the ED office.

BRS leader Kavitha's representative appeared before ED to assist in extraction of data from her mobiles.

It is to mention here that the Supreme Court on Monday tagged with other pleas, the petition of BRS leader K Kavitha seeking protection from arrest and challenging the summons by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi said it will hear the petitions of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and others after three weeks.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal informed the bench that a similar plea filed by Nalini Chidambaram, a senior advocate and wife of Congress leader P Chidambaram, is pending on a similar issue of summoning of women accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju said after filing of Nalini Chidambaram's petition, a judgement was passed by a three-judge bench upholding the provisions of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act, which squarely covers the provisions for summoning an accused.

The bench said it would be appropriate if all the petitions are heard together, and listed the matter after three weeks.

Mehta sought permission to file a detailed note on the issue, which the bench allowed.

On March 15, the top court agreed to hear Kavitha plea seeking protection from arrest and challenging the summons issued by the ED.

On March 11, the 44-year-old BRS leader deposed before the ED to record her statement and was summoned again on March 16 for questioning. She was last quizzed for about 10 hours on March 21, which was her third day of deposition before the agency.

The BRS leader has denied all allegations against her.

Kavitha, during her questioning by the ED, was confronted with statements made by Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, who has been arrested in the case, apart from those of a few others allegedly involved in the case, according to official sources.

Kavitha's statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Pillai was arrested by the ED earlier and he has moved a city court accusing the ED of forging his statements.

The ED had said Pillai "represented the south group", an alleged liquor cartel linked to Kavitha and others that paid kickbacks amounting to about Rs 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party to gain a larger share of the market in the national capital under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2020-21.