Delhi Excise policy | Supreme Court refuses interim relief to BRS leader Kavitha
The Hindu
he Supreme Court on March 27 indicated its intention to test the Centre’s claim that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can summon Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy case, considering the court’s own judgment in 2022 which backed the Central agency’s vast powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Supreme Court on March 27 indicated its intention to test the Centre’s claim that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can summon Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha in the Delhi excise policy case, considering the court’s own judgment in 2022 which backed the Central agency’s vast powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
A Bench led by Justice Ajay Rastogi however did not grant any interim relief to Ms. Kavitha, including protection from arrest.
Also Read | BRS leader Kavitha appears before ED for third time
In July 2022, a three-judge Bench of the apex court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary versus Union of India upheld certain core amendments made to the PMLA which gave the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) virtually unbridled powers of summons, arrest, raids while making bail nearly impossible.
Ms. Kavitha, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, highlighted the restriction placed on police officers under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against summoning women or questioning them at any place other than their own homes.
The petition has raised the question of whether a woman could be summoned to the ED office while arguing that it was “completely against the law”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, for the government, said Section 160 did not apply to the PMLA. They argued that the 2022 verdict of the court had made it amply clear, while Mr. Sibal countered that neither did the question arise in that case nor was it dealt with in the judgment.