Transit anticipatory bail in GST investigation may be granted by the court where arrest is apprehended, not only where offence arose.

Section 438 CrPC is treated as a protective provision that is not confined to the court within whose territorial limits the offence was investigated, and a court where arrest is apprehended may entertain an application for transit anticipatory bail. Applied to a GST investigation, the Delhi court accepted jurisdiction because the applicant had business presence there, expressed willingness to join investigation, and custodial arrest was not shown to be necessary. Temporary protection from arrest was granted to enable participation in the investigation and recourse to the competent court in Rajasthan if required.

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Issues: Whether the court where the accused apprehends arrest can entertain an application for anticipatory bail in a GST investigation, and whether transit anticipatory bail should be granted in the facts of the case.

Analysis: Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is a special protective provision and does not in terms confine jurisdiction only to the court within whose territorial limits the offence was committed. The reasoning adopted recognises that a person may apprehend arrest at a place different from the place of investigation, and that the court where such apprehension exists may grant protection so that the accused can join the investigation. The view is supported by prior judicial approaches recognising transit anticipatory bail, and the facts showed that the applicant had business presence in Delhi while the GST investigation was being carried out by the Jaipur unit. The order also noted willingness to join investigation, absence of any specific quantified tax evasion in the reply, and that custodial arrest was not shown to be necessary at this stage.

Conclusion: The court held that it could entertain the application and granted transit anticipatory bail to enable the applicant to join the investigation and seek further remedy before the competent court in Rajasthan if required.

Final Conclusion: The application was allowed by extending temporary protection from arrest for the limited purpose of participation in the investigation.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is not territorially confined to the court where the offence was committed and may be invoked by a court where arrest is apprehended, including for granting transit anticipatory bail.

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