New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant protection from arrest to an "absconding" accused, stranded at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, following revocation of his Indian passport in a GST fraud case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was urged by senior advocate Raju Ramchandran, appearing for Aarushi Aggarwal, that her husband Nishant was more than willing to come to India to join the investigation.

Nishant and few others are accused of creating fake companies by using Aadhaar and PAN cards to cheat the government and get tax benefits illegally under the GST law.

Nishant, whose Indian passport was cancelled following the issuance of a Blue Corner notice, is presently at Kuala Lumpur and moved to the top court through his wife Aarushi.

Ramchandran said his travel to India should be facilitated given his passport was cancelled aside from being granted protection from arrest for a few days to seek anticipatory bail in the case back home. He also said many other accused persons were already on bail.

“You travelled to Dubai, Malaysia and Indonesia. But you did not not come to India to join the investigation, said the CJI.

"What had stopped him from coming here?" he asked.

The UP government counsel opposed the plea saying Nishant was a key accused in the multi-crore fraud case and used 6 lakh PAN cards to commit the offence.

The bench made clear that the accused would have to surrender and come to India while directing Aarushi and the Ministry of External Affairs to coordinate to ensure he was brought back.

It said the Indian high commission in Malaysia would also chip in to ensure Nishant’s return to India.

The PAN card scam is a major financial fraud where fake or illegally obtained PAN cards were used for fraudulent transactions, money laundering, and identity theft.

The scam came to light when authorities discovered multiple fake PAN numbers linked to unauthorised bank accounts and illegal financial activities. PTI SJK AMK

Protection from arrest: absconding accused with cancelled passport must return to face GST fraud investigation and surrender. Refusal to grant interim protection from arrest was based on the accused being absconding, his passport cancellation after a Blue Corner notice, and allegations that he used Aadhaar and PAN data to create sham companies and obtain unlawful GST tax benefits; the court required surrender and directed coordination by the accused's spouse, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Indian mission abroad to secure his return for investigation while preserving prosecution and bail processes.