BRS MLC K Kavitha withdraws plea from Supreme Court challenging ED summons in Delhi excise irregularities case in view of her arrest. The BRS leader had moved the Supreme Court on Monday. Kavitha was arrested by the ED team on Friday in Hydrabad and was later brought to Delhi. Kavitha was arrested after a day-long questioning followed by a raid at her residence. Earlier on March 16, the Rouse Avenue Court sent Kavitha to custodial remand until March 23, 2024.K. Kavitha was produced in the courtroom under heavy security in the presence of a number of media persons, lawyers and party workers.
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari, along with Advocate Nitesh Rana, appeared for the K Kavitha before the court. Advocates Wajeeh Shafiq, Anuj Tiwari and Deepak Nagar also appeared for accused K Kavitha in the matter. However, Special ED Counsel Zoheb Hossain and Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta appeared for the Enforcement Directorate. Chaudhari argued that this arrest was a blatant abuse of power. They have clearly violated the Supreme Court orders, which have protected us. He further stated that, as per the law, there is a stay on her arrest until March 19.He also added that the vindictiveness and malafide on the part of the Enforcement Directorate are further writ large from the fact that despite the pendency of the issue/prayer before the Supreme Court that the mobile phones of the petitioner could not have been seized, leading to invasion of the right to privacy, the officers have gone ahead and at the time of the purported search on March 15, 2024.The action comes almost two months after the ED issued a summons to the 45-year-old daughter of former Telangana CM and BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao.
She was questioned three times in this case last year and the central agency recorded her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The BRS MLC has asserted in the past that she had done nothing wrong and alleged that the BJP-led central government was "using" the ED as the BJP could not gain "backdoor entry" into Telangana. Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation had also questioned Kavitha in this case. The ED case of money laundering was filed with cognizance of the CBI FIR. According to ED, Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, who was arrested last year in the case, "is one of the key persons in the entire scam involving payments of huge kickbacks and formation of the biggest cartel of the South Group. "Pillai, along with his associates, was allegedly coordinating with various persons to execute the political understanding between the South Group and a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the probe agency said.