2025 (12) TMI 1592

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....agistrate ('CMM'), Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, whereby the respondent was granted bail in the proceedings under Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 ('CGST Act'). 2. It is the case of the prosecution that the respondent was deeply involved in evasion of GST to the tune of approximately Rs.72 crores by clandestine supply of cigarettes. The respondent was arrested in the present case on 20.07.2020. 3. By the impugned order, the respondent was granted bail by the learned CMM considering that the claim of the respondent of depositing an amount of Rs.1.35 crores towards GST had not been disputed by the department. It was noted that the final adjudication of liability of the respondent towards GST deposit was yet to ....

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....ffering from some kidney ailment, the Court proceeded to grant bail as the complaint was yet to be filed and trial was likely going to take considerable amount of time owing to COVID - 19. 9. The petitioner department is aggrieved that the Trial Court has failed to duly appreciate the magnitude and graveness of the alleged crime. 10. This Court finds some merit in the said argument advanced by the learned SSC for the petitioner department as the learned CMM appears to have failed to take a prima facie view of the allegations and given undue consideration to deposit of a paltry sum that pales in comparison to the actual scope of the offence, which is alleged to be around Rs.72 crores. The learned CMM fell in error in granting bail at t....

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....hment which conviction will entail, the character 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/State and other similar considerations." 12. Thus, the learned CMM made an error in taking an insouciant attitude towards the nature of the crime and treating the case as a routine one for grant of bail. Be that as it may, it is imperative to note that on being asked, it is stated that investigation is still not complete and even after a lapse of more than five years, no complaint has been filed against the respondent till date. Despite the fact that the....