Complaint-case arrest procedure under GST law: interim bail granted where summons-to-warrant sequence was prima facie bypassed.

In complaint cases under the Odisha Goods and Service Tax Act, arrest should ordinarily follow the settled sequence of summons, then bailable warrant, and only then non-bailable warrant where the accused is deliberately evading process. The court noted a prima facie irregularity because the petitioner was directly arrested and produced before the Magistrate without adherence to that sequence. It also considered the petitioner's about one-year custody, the fact that the offence was triable by a Magistrate, and the revenue authorities' request for time. On that prima facie basis, interim bail was granted for four weeks on conditions.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioner, who had been arrested in a complaint case under the Odisha Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, was entitled to interim bail in view of the prima facie irregularity in the manner of arrest and production before the Magistrate.

Analysis: The order records that in complaint cases the settled course is to proceed first by summons, then by bailable warrant and only thereafter by non-bailable warrant when the accused is found to be deliberately avoiding process. The Court noted that the petitioner was directly arrested and produced in court in the complaint case, and that the material placed before it prima facie indicated non-adherence to that sequence. The Court also took into account the petitioner's custody for about one year, the nature of the offence being triable by a Magistrate, and the request for time by the revenue authorities.

Conclusion: The petitioner was granted interim bail for four weeks on conditions, on a prima facie view that the arrest procedure had not been followed in the manner indicated by the governing principles.

---