SC refuses relief to K Kavitha against ED summons in liquor scam case

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant any interim relief to BRS MLC and Telangana Chief Minister's daughter K Kavitha on summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor scam case related to now scrapped Delhi excise policy of 2021-22.

A bench led by Ajay Rastogi, however, agreed to examine a legal question whether a woman can be summoned for interrogation at the office of the investigating agency.

The court ordered to tag her plea along with the pending petitions of Nalini Chidambaram and Ruchira Banerjee, wife of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee.

The court fixed the matter for consideration after three weeks.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for her, contended that the question was related to whether she would be questioned here or at her residence, as summons were issued to her for interrogation in Delhi.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the plea for tagging, saying Banerjee's matter was different. Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said her plea had become infructuous.

Kavitha had earlier been questioned by the CBI and the ED in the case.

It was alleged Kavitha held benami investment in Indospiritis, a liquor firm involved in the scam. ED alleged one of the accused, Arun Ramchandran Pillai represented Kavitha in Indospirits.

The agencies alleged the South lobby, which included Kavitha, bribed AAP government to formulate an excise policy to facilitate the companies to win the bids and to form a cartel and control the retail outlets in Delhi. Kavitha allegedly invested money through her benamis and took back the money from the company later after getting the licenses.

In her plea, Kavitha contended summons issued against her was against the law. She also claimed the Enforcement Directorate is eliciting false statements from other witnesses by threatening to place them and their family members under arrest.

The investigation against her is nothing more than a fishing expedition being undertaken solely at the behest of the incumbent ruling political party, she alleged.

Kavitha accused the ED of acting in "extremely shameful" manner and as per a "larger conspiracy orchestrated at the behest of the members of the incumbent ruling party at the Center".

Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, along with a number of accused had already been arrested in the case.