Chennai: In a dramatic turn of events, K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has decided not to appear before the Enforcement Directorate today.
She sent BRS general secretary Soma Bharath Kumar to the ED office to inform them about her decision. What the ED will do next is not yet clear. Sources said the probe agency is unlikely to accept this, and will insist on her appearance.
Kavitha was summoned by the probe agency for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy case today, but had earlier approached the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing claiming that as a woman, she cannot be summoned to the ED office, and the probe agency’s representatives must visit her instead. She conveyed to the ED that the matter is pending in the Supreme Court.
Kavitha’s lawyer had sought an urgent hearing, claiming her being called to the ED office is “completely against the law”. She hasn’t been named as an accused by either the CBI or the ED.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha had agreed to hear her request on March 24.