TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 1289
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....24, 17802/2024, 17809/2024, 18616/2024, 19304/2024. 26838/2024, 26942/2024. Hon'ble Mrs. Manju Rani Chauhan, J. For the Applicants : Mr. Kamal Krishna Sr. Advocate, Mr. Manish Tiwary, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Vinay Saran Sr. Advocate, Mr. Arvind Srivastava, Advocate, Mr. Prakhar Saran Srivastava, Advocate, Mr. Eshan Lamba, Advocate, Mr. Aushim Luthra, Advocate, Mr. Vineet Sankalp, Advocate, Mr. Sikandar Khan, Advocate, Mr. Siddharth Srivastava, Advocate, Mr. Bharat Singh Pal, Advocate, Mr. Amit Kumar, Advocate, Mr. Jitendra Dwivedi, Advocate, Mr. Vinod Kumar Tripathi, Advocate, Mr. Sudhir Kumar Agarwal, Advocate, Mr. Deo Kumar Tripathi, Advocate, Mr. Prashant Kumar Singh, Advocate, Mr. Ashok Kumar Dubey, Advocate, Mr. Alok Kumar Singh, Advocate, Mr. Krishna Kant Dubey, Advocate, Mr. Hitesh Pachori, Advocate, Mr. Saurabh Basu, Advocate, Mr. Abhinay Bhattacharya, Advocate, Mr. Jagdish Prasad Mishra, Advocate. For the Opposite Party : Mr. Manish Goel, Sr. Advocate/ Additional Advocate General, U.P., Mr. Amit Singh Chauhan, AGA-I, Mr. Mayank Awasthi, Brief Holder, Mr. Rishi Kumar, Additional Chief Standing Counsel, Mr. Nitesh Srivastava, AGA. ORDER HON'BLE MRS. MANJU RA....
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....uddh Nagar 13. 55161/2023 Sumit Garg @ Chacha 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 14. 55235/2023 Sumit Garg @ Chacha 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 15. 55245/2023 Sumit Garg @ Chacha 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 16. 6728/2024 Dolsy Murjhani 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 17. 8746/2024 Dolsy Murjhani 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 18. 9061/2024 Dolsy Murjhani 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 19. 10526/2024 Jatin Murjani 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 20. 10527/2024 Jatin Murjani 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 21. 10528/2024 Jatin Murjani 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 22. 6882/2024 Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal ....
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....um Buddh Nagar 42. 13150/2024 Pritam Garg @ Chacha 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 43. 13386/2024 Pritam Garg @ Chacha 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 44. 16146/2024 Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 45. 16288/2024 Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 46. 16413/2024 Atul Gupta 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 47. 16981/2024 Amit @ Moti @ Motu 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 48. 16999/2024 Amit @ Moti @ Motu 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 49. 17749/2024 Rakesh Dialani 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 50. 17802/2024 Rakesh Dialani 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 51. 1780....
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....23054161Q. Hence, the FIR has been lodged. 4. As per prosecution version in FIR/Case Crime No. 248/2023, dated 01.06.2023 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC, Police Station Noida Sector-20, Gataum Buddh Nagar, the informant - Sumit Yadav came to know about registration of fake firm, Yadav Traders, against his PAN Card No. AHFPX9874Q and the address is recorded as Ground Floor JL No. 219 Khatian No. 2275 dag no. 1835, Sahibganj Road, near Sahibganj, High School, Kharimala, Khagrabari Cooch behar West Bengal - 736101. Said Firm is got registered fallaciously against informant's PAN Card AHFPX9874Q. It has been registered illegally by some unknown miscreants. Informant has mentioned his permanent address as K-11 Gyan Sarowar Colony, Ramghat Road, Aligarh, and present address as J-41, Senior Citizen Society, Greater Noida. Thus, the FIR has been lodged. 5. As per prosecution version in FIR/Case Crime No. 255/2023, dated 08.06.2023 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC, Police Station Noida Sector-20, Gataum Buddh Nagar, the informant - Arvind Kumar Yadav, on being known about arrest of some persons who illegally got GST registration using PAN Card of the persons, checke....
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....nt's Name 1. 13150/2024 Pritam Garg @ Chacha 2. 16981/2024 Amit @ Moti @ Motu 3. 17802/2024 Rakesh Dialani 4. 18705/2024 Atul Gupta 5. 55268/2023 Manan Singhal 6. 55161/2023 Sumit Garg @ Chacha 7. 525/2024 Praveen Kumar 8. 52956/2023 Ashwani 9. 6882/2024 Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal 10. 2742/2024 Vishal 11. 50753/2023 Akash Saini 12. 11581/2024 Ajay @ Mintu 13. 9061/2024 Dolsy Murjhani 14. 10528/2024 Jatin Murjani 15. 52966/2023 Rajiv Jindal 16. 51920/2023 Mahesh 17. 50510/2023 Nand Kishore 18. 26838/2024 Piyush Kumar Gupta 7. Sri Arvind Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant submits that instant bail application being Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 51920 of 2023 has been preferred by the applicant - Mahesh with a prayer to release him on bail in Case Crime No. 255 of 2023, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B IPC, Police Station Noida Sector-20, District Gautam Buddh Nagar. 8. As per prosecution story the informant on being searched on internet found that three fictitious firms have been formed wi....
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.... over the genuineness of the complaint stating that the territorial jurisdiction is decided on the basis of place of occurrence. In support of his submission, learned counsel for the applicant has placed reliance on a judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Dinesh Gupta v. State of Uttar Pradesh and another [2024 SCC OnLine SC 34] . Paragraph Nos. 24, 36 & 38 of the said judgement are quoted as under: "24. The falsehood in the complaint, filed with reference to the addresses of the accused, was established at the time of filing of charge-sheet. Whereas in the FIR, the addresses of all the accused given were incomplete merely mentioning the address as 'Sector 20, Gautam Budh Nagar', in the charge-sheet addresses of not only the appellants, namely, Rajesh Gupta and Dinesh Gupta, were found to be 'D-393, New Friends Colony, New Delhi, even Sushil Gupta and Baljeet Singh were also found to be residents of New Delhi. ... *** *** *** *** *** *** 36. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we find that the FIR in question, if proceeded further, will result in absolute abuse of process of court. It is a clear case of malicious prosecution. Hence, the ....
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....nstituting the offence can be said to have occurred within the local jurisdiction of that Court. 28. In the case on hand, as per the materials on record, in Crime No. 194 of 2005, charge-sheet has been filed and the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Durg has taken cognizance of the proceedings. In the present fact situation, we are of the considered opinion that the court at Durg has no territorial jurisdiction to try the case and the proceedings are liable to be quashed on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction since the entire cause of action for the alleged offence had purportedly arisen in the city of Ambala." 14. He further contends that no recovery has been made from the applicant's possession and the alleged recovery is fake and it does not make any case against the applicant. 15. Mr. Arvind Srivastava, learned counsel argued on behalf of the applicant - Rajiv Jindal in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 53010 of 2023, 53475 of 2023, 52966 of 2023; applicant - Mahesh in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 51907 of 2023, 51920 of 2023, 52254 of 2023, and applicant-Nand Kishore in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 53246 of 2023, 50362 of 2023 and 50....
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....ended, as also it is a settled law that the bail is rule and jail is exception. 18. Placing the three first information reports bearing Case Crime Nos. 203 of 2023, 248 of 2023 and 255 of 2023, lodged by Saurabh Dwivedi, Sumit Yadav and Arvind Kumar Yadav, respectively, learned counsel for the applicants submits that neither the permanent addresses of the informants are shown, nor the alleged forged firms registered on the PAN Card and Aadhaar Card is within the limits of State of U.P., therefore, the registration of proceedings in the State of U.P. is without jurisdiction and the investigation so conducted by the officers is also without jurisdiction and is in teeth of Section 177 Cr.P.C. In support of his submissions, learned counsel for the applicants has relied upon the judgements of Supreme Court in the case of Dinesh Gupta v. State of U.P. [2024 SCC OnLine SC 34], Manoj Kumar Sharma & others v. State of Chhattisgarh & Another [(2016) 9 SCC 1], and Y Abraham Ajith & others v. Inspector of Police, Chennai & another [(2004) 8 SCC 100] 19. The entire investigation started from an input by a secret informer and then on the basis of confessional statement of co-accused person....
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....tion of firm and it is clearly stipulated that the registration can be done only after PAN is validated online by a Common Portal from the Database maintained by Central Board of Direct Taxes [CBDT] and the mobile number is verified with One Time Password sent on the same mobile number. No such evidence has been collected, therefore, the implication of the applicant is false. 23. The Bail is the Rule and Jail is an exception. Said view has been taken by the Apex Court in the cases of Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. State of Maharashtra [(2021) 2 SCC 427], Sanjay Chandra v. CBI [(2012) 1 SCC 40 : (2012) 1 SCC (Cri) 26 : (2012) 2 SCC (L&S)], Susanta Ghosh v. State of W.B. [(2012) 2 SCC 680 : (2012) 1 SCC (Cri) 979], and Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI [(2022) 10 SCC 51] 24. Relying upon the the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana v. Ram Singh [(2002) 2 SCC 426], learned counsel for the applicants submits that no evidence exists and no recovery against the applicant Rajiv Jindal, co-accused Mahesh and Nand Kishore, for the alleged forged GST papers and for misappropriation of any tax or use of any ITC has been collected. The recoveries shown are planted withou....
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....tra were arrested on 08.06.2023 and Cash Counting Machine, one POS machine, 18 false invoices, 12 Aadhaar Cards, 1 GST registration certificate, 1 PAN Card and a show cause notice from Commissioner of Customs were allegedly recovered. On 10.06.2023 co-accused Rahul and Rajiv Gupta were arrested. 31. Name of Sumit along with 16 other persons figured in the confessional statements of co-accused Gaurav Singhal and Gurmeet Batra alleging their involvement but no specific role has been assigned to accused Sumit. Till this date, i.e., 10.06.2023 name of accused Manan has not been mentioned. On 11.06.2023, names of both applicants Manan and Sumit figured in the joint statements of arrested accused persons, no specific role has been assigned to the aforesaid persons. 32. On 22.06.2023 the alleged accused Manan and Sumit along with co-accused Atul Gupta were allegedly apprehended on the road connecting DND [Delhi Noida Direct Flyway] and Greater Noida Expressway in Mahindra XUV 700 Car bearing registration no. HR21-Q-0725. Recovery of Rs. 40,500/- from the pocket of accused Sumit, iPhone 10 and Rs. 10,000/- from the pocket of applicant Manan was made. As per the confessional statement....
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....e car, in which the accused Sumit and Manan were travelling has been made prior to arrest, thus, the statement of applicants as such is not admissible under Section 27 of the Evidence Act, as the same has not been recorded in terms of Section 27 of the Act, 1872 and the direction issued by the Supreme Court and this Court, nor any panchnama or disclosure statement has been prepared. Learned counsel for the applicants has relied upon the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Rajesh and another v. State of Madhya Pradesh [(2023) SCC OnLine SC 1202]. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that provisions of Section 100 Cr.P.C. have not been complied with, therefore, reliance cannot be placed upon the alleged recovery. The alleged accused Manan and Sumit cannot be said to be in conscious possession of the alleged documents recovered from two accused as they are not the owner of the car and they were only travelling in the car with the co-accused Atul Gupta. 39. The alleged documents have been recovered from the dashboard of XUV 700 and Skoda car, therefore, the same cannot be pinned upon the applicants. In support of his submissions, learned counsel has relied upon a jud....
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....f his submissions, he has relied upon a judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement [(Arising Out of SLP (Criminal) No. 8772 of 2024), decided on 09.08.2024]. 43. Sri Vinay Saran, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Eshan Lamba, learned Advocate argued the matter on behalf of the applicant - Dolsy Murjhani in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 6728 of 2024, 8746 of 2024 & 9061 of 2024, and applicant - Jatin Murjani in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 10526 of 2024, 10527 of 2024 and 10528 of 2024. He submits that the applicants are neither named in all three first information reports nor have been arrested from the alleged place of incident where raids were apparently made by police personnel. 44. The applicant Jatin Murjani is 21 years old student of B.Com. and applicant Dolsy Murjhani is an unmarried 23 years old girl. They have been falsely implicated being the son and daughter of co-accused Deepak Murjhani. On 01.06.2023 first statement of accused Yaseen Sheikh and Deepak Murjhani were recorded along with others and none of them stated that the applicants were involved in the controversy in any manner. After a lapse....
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....491/9 could not be connected by any way with the commission of the offence in question. He seeks benefit of Section 437 Cr.P.C. in respect to the matter of Dolsy Murjhani. 51. Sri Manish Tiwary, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Aushim Luthra, learned counsel for the applicant - Gaurav Singh alias Gaurav Singhal argued the case in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 6882 of 2024, 16146 of 2024 and 16288 of 2024. 52. Upon receipt of an information from a secret informer on 31.05.2023, Yaseen and Ashwani Pandey were arrested on 01.06.2023 from a flyover at Film City located at 16-A, Noida, U.P. and certain recovery of money, SIM Cards, Aadhaar Cards, PAN Cards, Mobile Phones, Laptops were shown from their possession. Their arrest and recovery from their possession has been transcribed in the case diary, from where it transpires that the accused Yaseen and Ashwani Pandey were taken to their office situated at Madhu Vihar, New Delhi. 53. While, the police raided the office at Madhu Vihar, New Delhi, it found 6 other accused persons, namely, Deepak Mujhani, Vineeta W/o Deepak Murjhani, Vishal Singh, Rajeev, Akash Saini and Atul Sengar. Yaseen confessed before the Investi....
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....eged to be forged invoices, 6 Aadhaar Cards were alleged to have been recovered from a car (Innova Crysta CS01-CF2606) which was allegedly parked outside the house of the applicant - Gaurav Singh and similar recovery was shown from the car of co-accused Gurmeet Batra. 59. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is not named in the FIR bearing Case Crime No. 203 of 2023 lodged on 04.05.2023. On the basis of information by a secret informer, coaccused Ashwani Pandey and Yaseen Sheikh were apprehended on 01.06.2023. Name of the applicant surfaced in the confessional statement of Yaseen Sheikh, Deepak Murjhani and Rajeev. Accordingly, the applicant and one Gurmeet Singh Batra were arrested on 10.06.2023 showing certain recovery. 60. He further submits that there is no independent witness to the alleged recovery shown from the applicant or the co-accused persons. The alleged forged invoices as recovered from the car of the applicant and another co-accused Gurmeet Singh Batra have not been connected to the offence in question. The applicant is not a beneficiary of the crime in any manner, however, solely on the basis of confessional statement of co-accused and ....
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....upreme Court in the case of Mohd. Muslim v. State (NCT of Delhi) [2023 LiveLaw (SC) 260]. He has also placed reliance on a judgement in the case of Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb [(2021) 3 SCC 713]. 64. Sri Bharat Singh Pal, learned counsel appeared on behalf of the applicant Vishal in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 50337 of 2023, 2994 of 2024 and 2742 of 2024. He submits that the FIR was lodged on the basis of written application of Saurabh Dwivedi against unknown persons. There is delay in lodging the FIR which is not explained. No specific time and place of the incident has been provided in the FIR. 65. The Investigating Officer on the basis of aforesaid FIR arrested Ashwani Kumar Pandey and Yaseen Sheikh from Film City Flyover on 01.06.2023 on the basis of information of the informant and recovered money, SIM Cards, Mobile etc. At the instance of Yaseen Sheikh, police went to the office of Jiwalo Pvt. Ltd. located at Madhu Vihar, Delhi, where the police found some people working on computer and laptops, and others were sitting idle. The police arrested all accused persons from the office and the applicant-Vishal is also said to be arrested from there, and from right ....
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....aring registration no. DL8C-NA4506 which is registered in the name of the applicant has been taken to connect the applicant in the aforesaid offence. The applicant had only attached his car with the office on rent. There is no evidence that the car has been used by the applicant in commission of offence. On 15.07.2023 Pritam Garg alias Chacha was arrested and certain things were recovered from his possession and also his statements were recorded. He also did not take name of the applicant. 69. The police arrested Rohit alias Jatin and Dolsy Murjhani on 18.07.2023 and recovered certain things and documents and also recorded their statements. On 26.07.2023 Nand Kishore alias Nand Lal alias Nandu was arrested. Certain things were recovered from them and their statements were recorded. Said persons did not take name of the applicant, nor they assigned any role to the applicant in commission of the alleged offence. On 15.08.2023 the Investigating Officer recorded statements of witnesses of arrest and recoveries, namely, SI Satan Kumar, SI Mukul Yadav, SI Birbhadra Singh, HC Sunil Kumar, C Ashish Kumar, WC Shailesh Kuntal, HC Vinod Kumar, Kailash Nath, Satish Kumar, Jitendra Singh, Ro....
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.... possession one mobile of Oppo company, one debit card, one Tax Invoice (two copies) in the name of Ram Enterprises to Keshav Traders (applicant's firm) were shown. 75. The applicant is the Director of the Firm running in the name and style of Keshav Traders which is registered with PAN Card of the applicant and said Firm has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Companies Act. 76. Learned counsel Sri Deo Kumar Tripathi and Sri Prashant Kumar Singh appearing on behalf of the applicant - Ashwani in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 52956 of 2023, 53087 of 2023 and 53088 of 2023, submit that the statements of informant were recorded on 05.05.2023 after lodging of the FIR on 04.05.2023, and on information of private informant police team arrested Ashwani and Yaseen Sheikh from Film City Flyover. The police party saw that the accused Yaseen has passed some documents and money to the applicant Ashwani, however, nothing incriminating was recovered from their possession. Recoveries from the office of Jiwalo Pvt. Ltd., Delhi were made. From the possession, recovery of Ashwani Rs. 10,000/-, 5 SIM Cards of different mobile companies, 1 Aadhaar Card, PAN Card and o....
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....d off condition, was recovered from the applicant, same belongs to him. Only on the basis of confessional statement of the applicant and other co-accused persons, the applicant has been arrested. The role of the applicant as per statements of other co-accused persons is of collection of payments. 82. Sri Saurabh Basu and Sri Abhinay Bhattacharya, learned counsel for the applicant - Rakesh Dialani in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 17749/2024, 17809/2024 & 17802/2024, and applicant - Pritam Garg alias Chacha in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 13386/2024, 12687/2024, 13150/2024 submit that name of the applicants surfaced in the statements of co-accused after they were arrested. From the applicant - Rakesh Dialani's possession recovery of 2 mobile phones, 1 Passport, SIM Cards, Aadhaar Cards and ID Cards was shown, whereas from the applicant - Pritam Garg recovery of fake tax invoice, 3 mobile phones, Aadhaar Card and ID card was also shown. No other substantive recovery has been shown, thus it is clear that no recovery of any item which coincides with the allegations of the informant or the case of the prosecution and investigating agency can be made out. 83. Learned ....
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....vement of the applicants in the offence is concerned, that they formed a syndicate and their modus operandi configures four segments: (i) assignment of job of collection of SIM Cards and personal data of people that have been uploaded on the portal of Goods & Service Tax; (ii) to use personal data for creation of fake Firms by uploading it on GST Portal; (iii) there will be one actual Firm which will be working and money transaction will flow to this actual Firm and the input tax will be availed; and (iv) distribution of monetary benefits among all. He has very strenuously argued that to divulge the involvement of the applicants, the dots are required to be joined to examine as to who has done it. 90. It is submitted by Mr. Goel that 2600 fake firms were found to be registered and the input tax credit availed with these 2600 Firms was more than Rs. 40,00,00,00,000/- (Rupees Four Thousand Crore). In the present matter anticipatory bail application was filed and after due consideration the Court has rejected the anticipatory bail of the applicant. 91. In response to the submissions advanced by learned counsel for Dolsy Murjhani that SIM numbers which have been recovered at the ....
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....ards for GST registration, thus, FIR has rightly been lodged under the relevant Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC. 96. As regards matter regarding jurisdiction as has been argued by learned counsel for the applicants, the same is demolished by bare reading of the FIR. Addressing the aspect with respect to jurisdictional issue of Gautam Buddh Nagar, learned AAG further submits that the person, who is making complaint, is having his identity of Gautam Buddh Nagar. In the FIR two GST Registration Nos. 03AUSPD7067N1Z3 and 27AUSPD7067N1ZT are mentioned, against which Tam Enterprises and Tam Traders have been registered, which are situated at Punjab and Maharashtra, whereas the complainant has stated that these firms bear his name as legal name of business entity. Thus, on the same GST registrations, name of Saurabh Dwivedi is registered besides the firms shown. Learned Addl. A.G. contends that the matter is as clear as it is there, that both firms have been registered with PAN numbers of Saurabh Dwivedi, hence submission as observed by learned counsel for the applicants has no legs to stand. 97. Learned AAG submits that the third submission of the applicants, which has been made the....
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....mmarized in three counts: (i) Gravity of Economic Offence, (ii) Impact, if the person is released on bail or the person is detained, and (iii) Interest of the Nation. It is argued that economic offence is not possible at the hands of one person and the present case is organized crime where crores of government money has been siphoned by registration of fake firms in which all applicants are connected in one or the other way. 101. In regard to the case of Dolsy Murjhani, learned AAG for the State submits that she had chip of the SIM Card, hence her involvement cannot be denied. The entire focal point is that the modus operandi was utilized by SIM and Aadhaar for GST registration. SIM Cards that have been recovered, are not mentioned, however, she has made a statement to the effect that her father is the main accused and the entire family was involved in the offence. The said statement has come on the record. Nine SIM Cards were being utilized at the time when she was intercepted, just because one SIM recovered at that point of time, was not being utilized, cannot go to prove her innocence. 102. Mr. Manish Goel next submits that the GST Act does not impliedly or explicitly repe....
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.... Central Bureau of Investigation [(2013) 7 SCC 466], Serious Fraud Investigation Office v. Nittin ohari and another [(2019) 9 SCC 165], and State of Gujarat v. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal and another [(1987) 2 SCC 364] . 106. Learned Additional Advocate General for the interpretation of Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, has placed Section 3 of the said Act, which defines 'fact', 'relevant', 'proved', which are as follows: "3. ... *** *** *** Fact".--"Fact" means and includes--(1) anything, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being perceived by the senses; (2) any mental condition of which any person is conscious. "Relevant". -- One fact is said to be relevant to another when the one is connected with the other in any of the ways referred to in the provisions of this Act relating to the relevancy of facts. *** *** *** "Proved".--A fact is said to be proved when, after considering the matters before it, the Court either believes it to exist, or considers its existence so probable that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it exists.....
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....contained in a separate folder there were details of 680 GST firms. In the said sheet, name of firms mentioned in the the FIR were also found. On the pointing out of Ashwani Pandey and Yaseen Sheikh, the investigating team reached at Madhu Vihar office, where accused Deepak Murjhani, Akash Saini, Vishal Singh, Atul Sengar, Rajiv, Vineet were found and arrested along with huge amount of money and documents relating to fake GST firms. Copy of recovery memo was duly received by the accused persons putting their signatures thereon. The arrested accused persons, in their confessional statements, disclosed names of Anchit Goyal, Pradeep Goyal, Archit Goyal, Mayur alias Mani Nagpal, Charu Nagpal and Deepak Singhal. Consequently, Section 120B IPC was added. (iv) C.D. Parcha No. 11 shows supplementary statement of accused persons in judicial custody, who said to assist in recovery of incriminating articles from concerned place and persons. (v) C.D. Parcha No. 14 contains majid-statement of Yaseen Sheikh, Rajiv Jindal and Deepak Murjhani, who disclosed names of Rajiv Maheshwari and Rahul Gupta. In the same parcha the aforesaid accused persons including accused Ashwani Pande....
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....ha No. 22, dated 23.06.2023, shows arrest of Atul Gupta, Sumit Garg alias Chacha and Mannan Singhal along with recovery at two instance of various fake invoices and cars, from which documents relating to A.K. Enterprises were found. Two separate recovery memos were given to the arrested accused persons which bear their signatures. Statements of aforesaid accused persons were recorded, who revealed names of Goldi, Anchit, Anshul, Pradeep Goyal, Praveen, Banti, Puneet, Ishwar, Vikas Dabbas and Sanjay Garg, Mayur alias Mani Nagpal, Charu Nagpal, Rohit Nagpal, Deepak Singhal, Peetam, Mintu, Montu, Ashish, Nandlal, Mahesh, Gaurav Nagpal and Sahil, and admitted to have been working together in this GST fake registrations and for earning undue monetary benefit. (xi) In C.D. Parcha No. 24 (29.06.2023) the Investigating Officer found that the fake mobile no. 8800966916, which has been used in registration of GST firms with PAN Number, mentioned in the FIR, was found to have been used in four different mobile sets bearing different IMEI Numbers, therefore, the CDR/CAF report reveals that one of the IMEI in which the aforesaid mobile number was used, it was recovered from the possess....
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....tigating Officer found the tax invoice of Gurmet Singh Batra to be fabricated. (xxi) C.D. Parcha No. 55 mentions that DGI, Ghaziabad Unit has provided list of 1192 PAN Cards and on verification from the PAN Card holders they denied knowledge of any such registration of firms. (xxii) C.D. Parcha Nos. 61 to 65 the Investigating Officer recorded statements of affected persons and victims, in whose names fake GST firms have been registered. (xxiii)C.D. Parcha No. 69 shows that IMEI Numbers of recovered mobile phones from accused persons were sent to respective companies, namely, AirTel, Jio, Vodafone Idea and on being run it was found that said mobiles with certain IMEI numbers were used in registration of a number of fake firms. They provided information that the mobile (IMEI) recovered from accused Yaseen Sheikh was used in 92 GST registration firms, from Vishal Singh and Akash Saini in 53 GST firms, from Atul Sengar in 45 GST firms, and mobile (IMEI) recovered from Deepak Murjhani was used in 139 fake GST firms. (xxiv) In C.D. Parcha No. 72 the Investigating Officer has referred the letter sent to DGGI [Director General of GST Intelligence], Unit ....
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....d to Live Light. Thereafter, statements of employees of the Company were recorded. They stated to have never seen Sukhveer Yadav and Rajesh Yadav who are also said to be Director of M/s Good Health and they use to report to Sanjay Dhingra who is owner of the said firm. Further, the complicity of Kanika Dhingra and Mayank Dhingra came to light. (xxx) In C.D. Parcha No. 81 the I.O. recorded arrest of Ashish Allavadi along with the recovery of driving licence of accused Mannan Singhal and voter I.D. of Baldev. In his statement, Ashish stated that he used to bring payment of GST commissions and he has confessed the names of his cousin brother Amit alias Montu, Arjit, Anchit, Atul, Mannan, Baldev, Nandlal, Ajay, Ishwar, Sanjay Garg, Gaurav Singhal, Peetam Chacha and others in the commission of the offence. (xxxi) C.D. Parcha No. 82 shows the entry of bank account of accused persons wherein concerned GST ITC transaction was found, as such the accounts were requested to be ceased by the Bank under Section 102(1) Cr.P.C. (xxxii) In C.D. Parcha No. 84 the I.O. shows arrest of accused Praveen Kumar with the recovery of mobile phone, Debit Card of Atul Gupta and two....
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.... Nishant Agarwal came into light. (xxxvi) C.D. Parcha No. 107 shows the entry of bank account of accused persons wherein concerned GST ITC transaction was found, as such the accounts were requested to be ceased by the Bank under Section 102(1) Cr.P.C. (xxxvii) C.D. Parcha No. 119 shows the arrest of accused Vikas Dabas and in his confessional statement he disclosed that he along with other persons, at the office of Arjit, Anchit and Pradeep Goyal, used to transfer the said GST firms bills to different places and receive commission thereof. Further, he disclosed the family of Archit and Anchit is mainly involved in this offence and all other accused are involved in different aspects of commission of crime. (xxxviii) C.D. Parcha No. 125 (09.03.2024) reveals that against the absconding accused (1) Anchit Goyal, (2) Pradeep Goyal, (3) Arjit Goyal, (4) Baldev alias Balli, (5) Rohit Nagpal proceedings of Non-Bailable Warrants, declaration under Sections 82 and 83 Cr.P.C. have been completed and lookout circular (LOC) has been issued as such there is less chances of arrest of the mentioned accused so charge sheet was filed against them under Sections 420, 467, 4....
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....,41,000/- were recovered. Subsequently, in their confessional statement, Sanjay Dhingra along with accused have confessed their guilt in the alleged offence. Moreover, accused Sanjay Dhingra disclosed that fake GST firms were prepared by him along with Deepak Murjhani and others and it is important to point out that Kanika Dhingra who is wife of Sanjay Dhingra has stated that through M/s Radha Krishna Marketing about Rs. 16,35,00,000/- were transferred to her saving bank account. Copy of recover memo was served upon the accused receiving their signatures thereon. (xlv) C.D. Parcha No.149 (03.05.2024) shows that mobile phones and table which were recovered from the daughter of Deepak Murjhani, namely, Dolsy Murjhani, were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory, Ghaziabad for examination. (xlvi) C.D. Parcha No. 156 (13.05.2024) reveals that the data relating to fake GST firms was shared with DGGI Unit, Jaipur, Rajasthan, wherein on 30.08.2023 names of Rishabh Jain, Shubham Jindal and Tarun Jindal came to light in the present offence. The report of DGGI indicates that the computerised data obtained discloses that aforesaid accused persons have received ITC benefits by w....
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....2023 10. Nand Kishore 248/2023 20.10.2023 11. Nand Kishore 255/2023 20.10.2023 12. Manan Singhal 255/2023 19.09.2023 13. Sumit Garg @ Chacha 255/2023 19.09.2023 14. Sumit Garg @ Chacha 248/2023 19.09.2023 15. Sumit Garg @ Chacha 203/2023 19.09.2023 16. Dolsy Murjhani 203/2023 10.10.2023 17. Dolsy Murjhani 248/2023 10.10.2023 18. Dolsy Murjhani 255/2023 10.10.2023 19. Jatin Murjani 203/2023 10.10.2023 20. Jatin Murjani 248/2023 10.10.2023 21. Jatin Murjani 255/2023 10.10.2023 22. Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal 255/2023 06.09.2023 23. Amit @ Moti @ Motu 248/2023 03.10.2023 24. Akash Saini 255/2023 29.08.2023 25. Akash Saini 203/2023 29.08.2023 26. Akash Saini 248/2023 29.08.2023 27. Ajay @ Mintu 248/2023 03.10.2023 28. Ajay @ Mintu 203/2023 03.10.2023 29. Ajay @ Mintu 255/2023 03.10.2023 30. Vishal 203/2023 29.08.2023 31. Vishal 248/2023 29.08.2023 32. Vishal 255/2023 29.08.2023 33. Praveen Kumar 255/2023....
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.... the accused persons by making fraudulent firm by using PAN Card and Aadhaar Card, Mobile Number for creating fake firms and through fake invoices, they breached supply chain of ITC and got benefit through fake gains which have been created by them. Thus, in so many words, the said case is started with registration of fake firms using Pan Card and Aadhaar Card of the informant for consequential benefits of claiming ITC. Thus, it cannot be said that the proceedings have to be initiated against the applicants under the the special Act i.e. Goods and Services Tax Act, where the proper procedure has been laid down and FIR could not have been registered. 114. The next finding in the case of recovery and use of fake PAN Cards has to be understood by analysing the purpose of issuing a PAN Card. The PAN card is issued to keep a track of financial activity of a person and a PAN is integral for all forms of payments. A PAN Card number is located to a needful and contains information such as Aadhaar number, date of birth and address. Similar is the use of Aadhaar Card which is now linked with the account of individual in favour of whom it has been issued. The PAN Card contains details of A....
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....that the applicant operates a racket for evading the Input Tax Credit by creating fake firms, he has already been granted bail, this Court is of the opinion that the present case is of a forgery and not related to GST, therefore, no benefit of bail granted in the aforesaid case can be given in the present case. 119. To understand the point of jurisdiction as argued by learned counsel for the State, it would be appropriate to quote Section 77 of Cr.P.C., which is as follows: "77. Ordinary place of inquiry and trial. Every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed." 120. It is also necessary to understand the meaning of inquiry. The inquiry has been defined under Section 2(g) of Cr.P.C. to mean every inquiry, other than trial, conducted by a Magistrate or a Court. It would also be appropriate to understand the meaning of 'investigation' which has been defined under Section 2(h) Cr.P.C. as all the proceedings for collection of evidence conducted by a police officer. 121. 'Trial' has not been defined under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Lexicologically, 'trial' means a judicial exami....
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....Court has also laid down guidelines to ensure that the information obtained is not the result of any compulsion or coercion. 125. In the case of Pulukuri Kotayya and others v. King Emperor [P.C. App. No. 37 of 1946, 19th Dec. 1946 (Indian Appeal Vol. LXXIV Page 65)], which is a landmark judgement, the Apex Court has explained the scope of Section 27 of the Act. In the said case it has been held that the phrase "distinctly related to the fact thereby discovered" is crucial, meaning only that part of statement that led directly to the discovery is admissible, and not the entire statement. In the case of State of Uttar Pradesh v. Deoman Upadhyaya [1960 SCC OnLine SC 8 : AIR 1960 SC 1125], the Apex Court has reiterated the aforesaid. Thus, Section 27 is a significant provision under the Indian Evidence Act providing an exception to the inadmissibility of custodial confessions. It allows admissibility of the specific information that leads directly to the discovery of a fact, balancing the needs of criminal investigation with the rights of the accused. 126. In the present case, after registration of the FIR when forgery had been done by using the Aadhaar Card and PAN Card of the i....
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....y bail in such cases especially if the accused holds a position of influence or power. In the present case, money trail of crores, which affects the society at large scale, is involved which started from registration of fake firms by using Aadhaar and PAN Cards of the informant who had not applied for such registration. 129. The Apex Court in the case of Manish Sisodia v. Central Bureau of Investigation, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1393, has discussed about the constitutional mandate which is higher law and accordingly it is the basic right of person charged of offence and not convicted be ensured and given a speedy trial, thus, where the trial is not proceeding for the reasons not attributed to the accused, the Court unless there are good reasons may well be guided by exercising power to grant bail. This would be true, the trial would take years. 130. In the present case from the report of the concerned District Judge/ Chief Judicial Magistrate, it is clear that the accused have avoided coming to the court and discharge application of one of the accused has been rejected. One or the other grounds are being taken by the accused persons in getting the matter adjourned so that the charg....
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...., the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considerations. It has also to be kept in mind that for the purpose of granting bail, the legislature has used the words "reasonable grounds for believing" instead of "the evidence" which means the court dealing with the grant of bail can only satisfy itself as to whether there is a genuine case against the accused and that the prosecution will be able to produce prima facie evidence in support of the charge. It is not expected, at this stage, to have the evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt." 133. Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Directorate of Enforcement v. M. Gopal Reddy and another, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1862 has held that in the economic offences which are having great impact on the society, the court must be slow in exercising discretion under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. 134. Insofar as the argument of learned counsel for the applicants that the cases where the accused are females, they are entitled to be released on bail giving benefit of Section 437 Cr.P.C., the court is of the opinion that the benefit can be given to women who do not have agency and not who themselves are pow....
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....and the knowledge of the accused as to its existence. To this extent, therefore, factum of discovery combines both the physical object as well as the mental consciousness of the informant accused in relation thereto. In Mohmed Inayatullah v. State of Maharashtra [(1976) 1 SCC 828], elucidating on Section 27 of the Evidence Act, it has been held that the first condition imposed and necessary for bringing the section into operation is the discovery of a fact which should be a relevant fact in consequence of information received from a person accused of an offence. The second is that the discovery of such a fact must be deposed to. A fact already known to the police will fall foul and not meet this condition. The third is that at the time of receipt of the information, the accused must be in police custody. Lastly, it is only so much of information which relates distinctly to the fact thereby discovered resulting in recovery of a physical object which is admissible. Rest of the information is to be excluded. The word 'distinctly' is used to limit and define the scope of the information and means 'directly', 'indubitably', 'strictly' or 'unmistakably'. Only that part of the information....
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.... mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character, behaviour, means and standing of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public or State and similar other considerations. It has also to be kept in mind that for the purposes of granting the bail the legislature has used the words "reasonable grounds for believing" instead of "the evidence" which means the court dealing with the grant of bail can only satisfy it (sic itself) as to whether there is a genuine case against the accused and that the prosecution will be able to produce prima facie evidence in support of the charge. It is not expected, at this stage, to have the evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt." 140. Law on consideration of the Court to grant or refusal of bail has been settled by the Apex Court in a catena of decisions. In the case of Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan [(2004) 7 SCC 528 : 2....
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....v. Directorate of Enforcement [(2020) 13 SCC 791 : (2020) 4 SCC (Cri) 646], held that precedent of another case alone will not be the basis for either grant or refusal of bail though it may have bearing on principle and the consideration will have to be on case-to-case basis on facts involved therein and securing the presence of the accused to stand trial. Paragraph-23 of the said judgement reads thus: "23. Thus, from cumulative perusal of the judgments cited on either side including the one rendered by the Constitution Bench of this Court, it could be deduced that the basic jurisprudence relating to bail remains the same inasmuch as the grant of bail is the rule and refusal is the exception so as to ensure that the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial. However, while considering the same the gravity of the offence is an aspect which is required to be kept in view by the Court. The gravity for the said purpose will have to be gathered from the facts and circumstances arising in each case. Keeping in view the consequences that would befall on the society in cases of financial irregularities, it has been held that even economic offences would fall under the cat....