Anticipatory bail is not maintainable when only a GST summons for inquiry has been issued and no custody threat is shown.

Anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is not maintainable merely because a person has been summoned under Section 70 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act for investigation. The summons required appearance, evidence, and production of documents in an ongoing enquiry, and the Court found no reasonable basis to apprehend custody solely on compliance with that summons. On that footing, anticipatory bail was held unavailable at the summons stage, and the application was rejected.

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Issues: Whether an application for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is maintainable when the petitioner has only been summoned under Section 70 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Analysis: The summons required the petitioner to appear and give evidence and produce documents in the ongoing enquiry. The Court found no reasonable basis for the apprehension that the petitioner would be taken into custody merely on appearance. In light of the settled position of law, anticipatory bail was held to be unavailable at a stage where only a summons under Section 70 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 had been issued.

Conclusion: The application for anticipatory bail was not entertainable and was rejected on that ground.

Ratio Decidendi: Anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is not maintainable merely because a person has been summoned under Section 70 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for investigation.

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