Hours after the Supreme Court granted her bail in Delhi excise policy cases, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha walked out of Tihar Jail in New Delhi late Tuesday evening to a rousing welcome by her party members and vowed to fight back to prove her innocence.
A combative Kavitha, who spent five months in jail, alleged that she was arrested only for political reasons and promised to "return it with interest" to those who had put her and her family through the ordeal.
The 46-year-old leader was visibly emotional as she was reunited with her husband, children and her brother and BRS working president KT Rama Rao.
BRS workers and supporters, who had gathered outside the jail, celebrated to the beats of drums and burst crackers. Party MLAs, MPs and former ministers from Telangana were also present.
Addressing party workers and supporters outside the prison, Kavitha said that the entire country knows that she has done "nothing wrong". She asserted that the "unjust" imprisonment had strengthened her party's resolve and the BRS and KCR team is "unbreakable".
"We will fight and prove ourselves innocent ...we were always tough. We are fighters. We will fight it out legally. We will fight it out politically. By sending us to jail illegally, they have only made the BRS and KCR team unbreakable," Kavitha said.
Later addressing the media at the BRS party office here, Kavitha said, "I will return it with interest to those who put me and my family through this ordeal. Our time will come."
The BRS leader insisted on her innocence and said her arrest was politically motivated.
The Enforcement Directorate had arrested her from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15 and the CBI had arrested her from Tihar jail on April 11.
Kavitha has been accused of being part of the 'South Group', a cartel of businessmen and politicians, which allegedly paid kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to
Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party in return for liquor licences. She has denied all allegations
"Only because of politics, I was put behind bars. I made no mistake. I will fight and prove I'm innocent," Kavitha told reporters.
"I am Telangana's daughter, KCR's daughter. I cannot commit a mistake. I am stubborn and good," she added.
Kavitha acknowledged the personal toll of her incarceration, stating, "Being separated from my family and children for five-and-a-half months as a mother was particularly trying."
"We will fight this battle on both legal and political fronts. By unjustly imprisoning me, they have only strengthened the BRS party and KCR's resolve," Kavitha said.
BRS founder and Kavitha's father K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly called KCR, had alleged that she was arrested due to BJP's vendetta.
"Thank You Supreme Court. Relieved. Justice prevailed," K T Rama Rao said on X after his sister was granted bail.
BRS leaders distributed sweets at the party's headquarters in Hyderabad.
Kavitha will leave for Hyderabad on Wednesday afternoon.
While granting bail on Tuesday, an apex court bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan noted that Kavitha had been in custody for around five months and the probe against her by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was complete in these cases.
The court allowed Kavitha's appeals against the July 1 verdict of the Delhi High Court which had denied her bail in the two cases.
While quashing the high court verdict, the apex court said Kavitha shall not make any attempt to tamper with evidence or influence the witnesses and shall deposit her passport with the trial judge.
It said she shall regularly attend the trial court proceedings and cooperate to ensure expeditious disposal of the trial.
The two federal agencies came in for some sharp criticism over their "fairness" in dealing with the matter, with the apex court observing: "Sorry to see this state of affairs".
"You will pick and choose anyone?" it asked while referring to one of the witnesses whose statements were read out in the court during the arguments.
"The prosecution has to be fair. You can't pick and choose anyone. What is this fairness? A person who incriminates himself has been made a witness," the bench said, adding, "Tomorrow you will pick up anyone as you choose and leave anyone as you choose as an accused? Very fair and reasonable discretion!"
When Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the probe agencies, referred to some witnesses who have claimed Kavitha's involvement in the alleged scam, the court told him it would be compelled to "observe everything" if he tried to pull it into the details.
"We will have to observe about the fairness and impartiality of the investigating agencies," it said, adding, "If you want those observations, you argue more".
