Delhi court on Monday denied interim bail to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha who was arrested on March 15 by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering in the Delhi excise policy scam case.

"From the material placed before this court, it appears that the Applicant not only engaged in destruction of material evidence by formatting her phones before joining the investigation and after being served with notice requiring her to do so, along with her digital devices, which stands established by way of the forensic report in this regard, but also has been instrumental in influencing witnesses and there is every likelihood of her continuing to do so in case the relief prayed for is granted to her," Special Judge Kaveri Baweja said.

Kavitha had approached the court for interim bail, claiming her 16-year-old son has exams and needs her "moral and emotional support".

The judge said Kavitha was stated to be highly educated, and by no standards can be said to be a vulnerable woman who could be made a scapegoat for committing the alleged offences. She is undoubtedly a "well-educated" and "well-placed woman in the society"..

In response to Kavitha's submission that her husband was busy pursuing litigation on her behalf, the judge said it was not a "convincing reason" for grant of interim bail, and added that "it also appears that so called exam related anxiety of the child does not seem to be his priority," as reported by IndianExpress.

The judge said there was no apparent reason as to why close relatives (older sibling, father and maternal aunts, i.e., mausis) cannot provide the requisite moral support to the child during his examinations.

The argument that they cannot be a substitute for the mother to address the exam-related anxiety of the child is not a compelling reason to grant interim bail, she said.

Kavitha, 46, was arrested from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15.