Excise ‘scam’: No interim bail for K Kavitha; court says she ‘prima facie’ destroyed evidence

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday denied interim bail to BRS leader K Kavitha, arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, saying prima facie she not only destroyed evidence but was also instrumental in influencing witnesses and there is “every likelihood” of her continuing to do so in case the relief is granted.

Kavitha had approached the court for interim bail, claiming her 16-year-old son has exams and needs her “moral and emotional support”.

“From the material placed before this court, it appears that the Applicant not only engaged in destruction of material evidence by formatting her phones before joining the investigation and after being served with notice requiring her to do so, along with her digital devices, which stands established by way of the forensic report in this regard, but also has been instrumental in influencing witnesses and there is every likelihood of her continuing to do so in case the relief prayed for is granted to her,” Special Judge Kaveri Baweja said.

The judge said Kavitha was stated to be highly educated, and by no standards can be said to a vulnerable woman who could be made a scapegoat for committing the alleged offences. She is undoubtedly a “well-educated” and “well-placed woman in the society”.

“The material placed before this court in the course of arguments prima facie points towards her active involvement in commission of the alleged offences as also towards her deliberate act of causing destruction of evidence, besides attempting to influence witnesses of the case,” the judge said.

In response to Kavitha’s submission that her husband was busy pursuing litigation on her behalf, the judge said it was not a “convincing reason” for grant of interim bail.