Delhi HC grants Sarath bail in liquor scam, BRS hopes rise

HYDERABAD: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted bail to “Aurobindo” P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, prime accused in the Delhi liquor scam, in a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, a development that the BRS viewed positively with reference to party MLC K. Kavitha.

Sarath Reddy, who is on interim bail, moved the designated court for extension of interim bail and simultaneously filed an application for regular bail in Delhi High Court citing health reasons. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the same case but was released on bail after which ED enforced the arrest.

Sarath Reddy’s bail came a day after the designated court granted bail to two Delhi-based businessmen who were accused of channelling kickbacks from the ‘South Group’, a term the investigating agencies had coined to refer to Sarath Reddy, Bharata Rashtra Samithi MLC K. Kavitha and YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasula Reddy and his son Raghava Reddy.

Though the reasons for grant of bail were different and in both the cases the courts maintained that they were not going into the merits of the case, the developments in the last two days gave a ray of hope to the BRS leaders. They were hopeful that when the person who allegedly arranged kickbacks and people who allegedly carried out the transaction through hawala were all out on bail, there will be no justification for the arrest of Kavitha.

The court while granting bail to Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra said the bail was being granted in the absence of any satisfactory corroborative  material, in view of the material contradictions and deficiencies in evidence relating to the transactions of advance kickback amount.

“The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must present compelling evidence to the trier of fact. Bail is a rule and jail is an exception,” pointed out R. N .Hemendranath Reddy, senior advocate in the Telangana High Court.

Claiming innocence, Kavitha had taken the stand that neither the CBI nor the ED could substantiate their allegation of her involvement in the Delhi liquor scam except relying on the statements given by those who had turned approver in the case. She responded to the ED’notices and appeared before it thrice and even furnished the old mobile phones which, the ED had alleged, she had destroyed to erase evidence.

“We have been maintaining since beginning that the case is politically motivated,” said Telangana State Planning Board chairman and senior BRS leader B.Vinod Kumar. “It is an attempt by the BJP-led government at the Centre to target and harass its political rivals,” he said adding that  no party in power should indulge in vindictive politics. “Almost all the accused in this case got bail and we hope this case will not stand legal scrutiny,” he said.