Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and party president K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter, Kalvakuntla Kavitha, moved the Supreme Court on Monday challenging her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case.
On behalf of Kavitha, her husband P Anil Kumar filed the petition through advocate on record P Mohit Rao.
The Rouse Avenue court in Delhi remanded Kavitha to ED custody for a week on March 16 following her arrest by the central agency, leading to the plea before the apex court.
The plea, filed as a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, challenges her arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Kavitha was arrested by the ED on March 15 from Hyderabad, hours after an ED team searched the premises and interrogated her.
The ED claims that Kavitha was linked to a "South Group" lobby of liquor traders who were attempting to play a larger role under the now scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
Allegedly, one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks amounting to at least ₹100 crores on behalf of AAP leaders from the "South Group", allegedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, K. Kavitha, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.
Kavitha was questioned thrice last year in this case by the ED and again summoned this year, but she did not depose, citing a Supreme Court direction that allowed her protection from any coercive action.
After her arrest, she was brought to Delhi, and Special Judge M.K. Nagpal of Rouse Avenue remanded her to ED custody until March 23.
Significantly, a plea filed by Kavitha against summons issued by the ED is currently pending before the Supreme Court and is listed to be heard next on March 19, Tuesday.
Kavitha is the third high-profile political leader to be arrested by the ED in the excise policy case.
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are already behind bars in the case, with the former's curative petition seeking release from custody having been dismissed recently.
Earlier on March 16, Arvind Kejriwal appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court in connection with the same case.
