Anticipatory bail not maintainable for CGST summons; pre-arrest protection, if any, lies in writ jurisdiction under Article 226.

A person summoned under Section 70 of the CGST Act in the course of inquiry cannot ordinarily invoke anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC as the proper pre-arrest remedy. The Court treated the summons power and the arrest power under the CGST framework as distinct, and found no meaningful difference for this purpose between summons under Sections 69 and 70. It indicated that, if protection against possible arrest is otherwise justified, the appropriate course is to seek writ relief under Article 226 of the Constitution. On that basis, the anticipatory bail application was not maintainable and was rejected.

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Issues: Whether an application for anticipatory bail was maintainable when the applicants had been summoned under Section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Analysis: The summons were issued in the course of inquiry under the CGST Act. The statutory scheme distinguishes between the power to summon a person for evidence or documents and the power to arrest a person on reasons to believe. The binding position relied upon by the Court was that where summons are issued under the CGST framework in connection with inquiry, anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is not the proper remedy. The Court further held that there was no meaningful distinction, for this purpose, between summons issued under Section 69 and summons issued under Section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Protection against possible pre-trial arrest, if otherwise available, lies in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Conclusion: The anticipatory bail application was not maintainable and was rejected.

Final Conclusion: Summons under the CGST Act do not by themselves justify invocation of anticipatory bail jurisdiction, and the proper course for pre-arrest protection, if any, is to seek writ relief.

Ratio Decidendi: A person summoned in an inquiry under the CGST Act cannot invoke anticipatory bail jurisdiction under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; the appropriate remedy lies in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

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