New Delhi : Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Friday reserved for later in the day its order on the CBI’s plea seeking five-day custody of BRS leader K Kavitha, arrested in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order after hearing arguments by the CBI as well as the counsel appearing for Kavitha on the application.
The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was held in Tihar Jail, where she has been lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The CBI told the court that Kavitha was not cooperating in the investigation and was evasive in her replies.
Advocate Nitesh Rana, counsel for the accused, opposed the CBI’s plea, terming the arrest as illegal. He further accused the probe agency of violating Kavitha’s fundamental rights.
CBI officials had recently questioned Kavitha inside prison after obtaining permission from a special court.
The ED arrested Kavitha (46) from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15.
“Dinesh Arora, (accused turn approver) has confirmed in his statement that Abhishek Boinpally informed that Rs 100 crores was given to Vijay Nair. Statement of Hawala operators under Section 161 & 164 CrPC confirms the payment of Rs 11.9 crores. Chats recovered from Buchibabu reveal that she was holding a partnership in Indospririts. Licenses were given to Indospririts even after being blacklisted due to the pressure of accused Manish Sisodia,” CBI further said.
“We have sufficient material, WhatsApp chats, and statements of the associated accused,” the central probe agency stated.
CBI further claimed that BRS leader K. Kavitha is withholding information that is solely within her knowledge. Despite prior notices, according to the probe agency, she has not cooperated with the investigation. “Therefore, we require a five-day custodial remand to uncover the conspiracy,” stated the CBI public prosecutor.
Kavitha’s Counsel says the arrest is illegal
Contesting CBI’s application to interrogate the BRS leader, Kavitha’s counsel asserted that the court needs to look a the two aspects of the case, first, CBI’s power to arrest and second, the exercise of that power.
Highlighting that there are no provisions in CRPC, Kavitha’s counsel stated: “An application is moved before this court to interrogate Kavitha by CBI. There is no provision in CRPC which would enable an investigating agency to interrogate an accused in another case. Assuming that prison rules facilitate examination of the person, they can’t override CRPC.”
The counsel further told the court that the central probe agency did not provide any prior notice, and thus CBI’s application to interrogate affects Kavitha’s “constitutional right.”
Kavitha, who has been incarcerated in Tihar Jail since her arrest on March 15 by the Enforcement Directorate probing allegations of money laundering in the excise policy case, was arrested by the CBI on Thursday, which is also investigating the case.
