Applicants granted regular bail in alleged fraudulent ITC claims; offences triable by magistrate, S.70 CGST confessions' admissibility to be tested

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....In HC, the applicants (anonymized) were granted regular bail in a prosecution alleging fraudulent ITC claims on bogus invoices; the court held the offences are triable by a magistrate with a maximum sentence of five years, applicants had been in custody for over four months, the charge-sheet was filed but charges not yet framed and trial not imminent, rendering further detention unnecessary. The court observed that the prosecution case rests on documentary evidence and confessional statements recorded under section 70 of the CGST Act, whose admissibility must be tested at trial, and noted parity with co-accused on bail. Bail granted subject to furnishing requisite bail and surety bonds to the trial court.....