Anticipatory bail in GST fraud may be refused where the accused repeatedly evades summons, absconds, and cannot claim parity with a cooperating co-accused.

Anticipatory bail may be declined in a serious GST-linked fraud case where the accused is alleged to have acted as the principal operator of a bogus firm and the record shows repeated non-cooperation, failure to appear on summons, and absconding. The court treated the petitioner's evasive conduct as decisive, and held that parity with a co-accused who had cooperated was unavailable because the factual position was materially different. The principle that post-charge-sheet custody may not be necessary for a cooperative accused was found inapplicable on these facts. Pre-arrest protection was therefore refused.

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Issues: Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to a petitioner accused of offences under the goods and services tax laws and allied penal provisions despite alleged non-cooperation, repeated non-appearance, and absconding.

Analysis: The petitioner was alleged to be the proprietor of a bogus firm through which fraudulent transactions were routed. The record indicated repeated summons, absence from investigation, and conduct suggesting deliberate evasion, including escape from the premises when officers visited. The co-accused who had cooperated in the investigation stood on a different footing, so parity was not available. The principle that post-charge-sheet custody may not be necessary where the accused has cooperated was held inapplicable on these facts because the petitioner was not cooperating and was still absconding.

Conclusion: Anticipatory bail was refused.

Final Conclusion: The request for pre-arrest protection failed because the petitioner's non-cooperation and evasive conduct outweighed the claim for parity or custodial leniency.

Ratio Decidendi: Anticipatory bail may be declined where the accused is alleged to have played the principal role in a serious tax-related fraud and the materials show persistent non-cooperation, evasion of summons, and absconding; parity with cooperating co-accused does not apply in such circumstances.

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