Case Details:
| Particular | Details |
| Case No. | CRM-M NO. 56039 of 2022 |
| Case Name | Ashu Gupta v. State of Haryana |
| Court | High Court of Punjab & Haryana |
| Date of Judgement | 03-03-2023 |
| Citation | GIG-CLS-0010 |
Â
Issue- In the above case, the petitioner has applied for a bail application under Section 439 of Cr.P.C wherein petitioner was charged under Section 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC and Section 132 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 on the allegations which are a subject matter of the GST Act pertaining to the receipt of Input Tax Credit in an illegal manner.
Held- It was held that the allegations against the petitioner are pertaining to cheating and fabrication of bills and documents. The argument raised by learned senior counsel for the petitioner that no separate FIR could be filed and only a complaint under the GST Act could have been filed would not be sustainable since offences under the GST Act and that of the provisions of the IPC as are in the present case are separate and distinct. Even maximum punishment under Section 467 IPC is upto life imprisonment. The allegations against the petitioner were with regard to getting benefit of about Rs.2,68,74,696/- as wrongfully by way of Input Tax Credit and as per the allegations there was no physical movement of any goods and it was all a paper transactions and even as per learned counsels for the parties, the FIR was initially lodged under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC and thereafter Section 132 of the Goods & Service Tax Act, 2017 was added. The earlier bail petition was dismissed as withdrawn by the petitioner on 24-8-2022 and the present petition has been filed on 29.11.2022 and till date there is no change of circumstance. This Court is of the view that considering the gravity and the magnitude of the allegations involved in the present case and also the apprehension expressed by learned State counsel that in case the petitioner is released on bail, then he may threaten the witnesses, this Court does not deem it fit and proper to grant bail to the petitioner. Consequently, finding no merit in the present petition, the same is hereby dismissed.
