The Supreme Court on Monday did not grant any interim relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and Telangana MLC Kavitha in relation to summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi posted the case for hearing after 3 weeks.
Kavitha had then moved the top court two weeks ago against the summons.The top court, however, did not list the matter on an urgent basis, and hence she already appeared before the ED thrice.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Kavitha, said that issues concerning place of interrogation etc.need to be addressed.“Whether she needs to be interrogated at home or in Delhi, Court is seized of and has issued notice in similar petitions of Nalini Chidambaram and Abhishek Banerjee,” Sibal said.
When the matter came up for hearing before the apex court on Monday, the ED counsel told the bench that matter has become pointless.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju opposed the plea and tagging with other matters.
ASG Raju said that rights applicable to woman witness under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as regards the place of questioning will not apply for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).“As per Vijay Madanlal judgment, Section 160 (CrPC) will not apply in PMLA,” the ASG said.
Sibal maintained that the issue as regards summons has not been answered on Vijay Madanlal judgment.
The Court eventually issued notice on the plea.
