SC agrees to hear BRS leader K Kavitha's plea against ED on March 24

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on Mar 24 a petition by K Kavitha, a BRS MLC & daughter of Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, seeking stay of summons and protection from arrest by ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in Delhi's now-scrapped excise policy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha agreed to hear the plea of Kavitha, who is also a member of legislative council, on March 24.

"Can a woman be called to the office of the Enforcement Directorate?" her lawyer said while seeking an urgent hearing of the plea. It is "completely against the law", the lawyer said.

On March 11, the BRS leader was questioned for hours by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case.

Kavitha had earlier said "these tactics of intimidation" against the fight of her father and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and the BRS would not deter them.

The "south group", according to the agency, "comprises" Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from Ongole Lok Sabha seat), Kavitha and others.

The ED also alleged in Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, an alleged frontman of the "south group's remand papers that he "represented the benami investments" of Kavitha in this case.

The BRS leader has been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in this case earlier.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) here.

The policy was later scrapped and the Delhi Lt Governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.