Anticipatory bail under the CGST Act requires a communicated...

Anticipatory bail under the CGST Act requires a communicated order authorising arrest. Summons issued during an inquiry into alleged ineligible input tax credit do not, by themselves, make the recipient an accused or establish a legally sustainable apprehension of arrest. The statutory foundation for pre-arrest protection is an arrest-authorisation order made after the required reasons to believe; pending investigation, searches, summons, and a contingent risk of arrest cannot replace that requirement. Petitions founded only on summons were premature where no such order had been passed and communicated, without addressing the underlying allegations or investigation.