ED summons K Kavitha again in Delhi Excise policy case

HYDERABAD: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha has been summoned by the Directorate of Enforcement to join the investigation on Friday in connection to the Delhi Excise policy case, sources said. According to the sources, more than a dozen people were also summoned who were involved in carrying out cash transactions in the scam.

Earlier, ED summoned Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha in March this year in connection with the probe into the Delhi liquor policy case. The ED had summoned her earlier also to appear before it in the Delhi excise scam, alleging that she was a key member of the south cartel.

Kavitha, who is a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case in December last year.

ED has so far filed five charge sheets in the case, including against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia. ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken nearly 200 search operations in this case after filing an FIR after taking cognisance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary's report filed in July last year showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials had said. In October, the ED had raided nearly three dozen locations in Delhi and Punjab following the arrest of Sameer Mahendru, Managing Director of Delhi's Jor Bagh-based liquor distributor Indospirit Group, in the case and arrested him later. The CBI too filed its first charge sheet in the case early this week.

The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.

As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19. This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.