In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court of India chastised investigative agencies for their approach in the Delhi Excise Policy scam, involving BRS leader K. Kavitha. The Court granted bail to the 46-year-old politician, marking her release from Tihar Jail, where she had been incarcerated for five months on charges of corruption and money laundering.
During the proceedings, the apex court questioned the fairness of the investigation, criticizing the selective targeting of individuals by agencies. The agencies argued that Kavitha had tampered with evidence by deleting messages and formatting her phone. However, the Supreme Court countered these claims, stating that such actions do not constitute a crime and that mobile phones are private property, commonly subjected to message deletions by owners.
Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K.V. Vishwanathan presided over the case and expressed concern over the prosecution’s handling of evidence. They highlighted the normalcy of upgrading and changing phones, dismissing the agencies’ assertion that these actions implied guilt.
In her defense, Kavitha argued through her lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, that the accusations were baseless. She pointed out that the charges of phone destruction were levied four months before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned her, questioning the timeline presented by the agencies. Rohatgi emphasized that changing phones is a routine activity and should not be misconstrued as evidence tampering.
Despite the Additional Solicitor General, S.V. Raju, presenting arguments about Kavitha giving her formatted phone to an employee and purchasing a new one, the bench remained unconvinced. They noted that routine phone formatting, even if it involved deletion of contacts or call histories, should not be automatically treated as criminal behavior.
The Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail was based on the extensive nature of the investigation still required, with over 493 witnesses to be questioned and 50,000 pages of documents to be examined. They argued that continuing to hold Kavitha in custody was unnecessary as both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED had largely completed their investigations.
