Top Court's Rebuke K Kavitha Gets Bail Despite Education Debate

Photo : PTI

In July, the Delhi High Court rejected K Kavitha's bail plea, reasoning that she is a prima facie key accused in the Delhi liquor policy scam and that the investigation, still in a "crucial stage," offered no grounds for bail.

However, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted conditional bail to Kavitha, a prominent leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) a month later had drawn significant attention, as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his former deputy, Manish Sisodia, are also implicated in the scandal.

Kavitha’s release makes her the second major opposition leader to be granted bail in this case. Manish Sisodia, arrested in February of the previous year, was granted bail earlier this month. The Supreme Court had noted delays in Sisodia’s trial, ruling that indefinite detention violated his fundamental rights.

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Kejriwal, also arrested by both agencies, remains in jail. Although he secured bail from the ED case, he has yet to receive bail in the CBI case. This month, the Supreme Court denied him relief.

The Supreme Court, comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, noted that Kavitha had already spent over five months in jail and that the trial was not expected to commence soon, despite the investigation being complete. The court remarked that Kavitha’s continued detention was unnecessary, given the prolonged incarceration and the improbability of a near-future trial.

In its decision, the court referenced Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which allows for special bail considerations for certain categories of accused, including women. The Supreme Court strongly criticized the Delhi High Court’s previous rejection of Kavitha’s bail plea, which was based on her educational status and previous political position. The High Court had argued that Kavitha, being an educated former Member of Parliament, was not a "vulnerable" woman deserving of bail. 

The Supreme Court deemed this reasoning a misapplication of the law, asserting that judicial discretion should not be influenced by a woman's education or status. It emphasized that such factors should not automatically disqualify someone from bail, highlighting the importance of judicial fairness.

Following the bail order, the BRS expressed its satisfaction on social media, claiming that Kavitha had been "illegally imprisoned for 166 days" without substantial evidence and asserting that justice had prevailed in what they described as a politically motivated case. Kavitha’s brother, KT Rama Rao, the BRS Working President, was present in court when the bail was granted.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kavitha, argued that bail for women is a "normal practice" and noted Kavitha's role as a mother of two, with one child being a minor undergoing medical care. He pointed out that the agencies had not recovered the ₹100 crore allegedly paid by the 'South group' for liquor licenses. Rohatgi argued that Kavitha, an ex-MP, had no reason to flee and that the claims of her tampering with evidence were unsubstantiated.

The prosecution had claimed Kavitha deleted crucial text messages and reformatted her phones. Rohatgi dismissed these allegations as baseless, arguing that people frequently change phones and delete messages.

The Supreme Court remained unconvinced by the prosecution’s arguments and noted that deleting messages is a common practice. The Court imposed several conditions on Kavitha’s bail, including prohibitions against tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. She is required to post bail bonds totaling ₹10 lakh—one for the ED case and one for the CBI case—and surrender her passport.

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