Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted bail to MLC Kavitha, who is an accused in the Delhi liquor scam case. The ruling came after the court expressed concerns about the conduct of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), raising doubts about the impartiality of these central investigation agencies.
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Viswanathan, presided over the hearing on Kavitha’s bail petition. The bench criticized the ED and CBI for relying heavily on statements from former accused who had turned approvers, questioning the fairness of such an approach. The judges remarked, “You have to be impartial. Has the accused become a witness by choice? Where is the justice in that?”
Lack of Concrete Evidence
During the hearing, the Supreme Court pressed the ED and CBI for concrete evidence linking Kavitha to the liquor scam. The Additional Solicitor General, SP Raju, presented evidence based on statements from Buchibabu and Magunta Raghavareddy, who had become witnesses. However, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kavitha, argued that the same statements had been used as evidence in other cases, such as those involving Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia. Rohatgi pointed out that there was no substantial evidence beyond the statements of these approvers to implicate Kavitha.
Court’s Observations on Phone Evidence
The Supreme Court also addressed the issue of Kavitha allegedly formatting her mobile phones and deleting messages. Justice Viswanathan remarked, “Phones are a personal matter. Everyone deletes messages on phones. Just formatting the phone should not be considered a crime. There should be additional evidence to prove the crime.”
The court emphasized the need for impartiality in the investigation and the importance of concrete evidence, ultimately granting bail to Kavitha.
