TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (6) TMI 946
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....n the interest of justice. 2) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to Quash the impugned chargesheet no. 617/2025 dt. 16.07.2025 filed before Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, District Bilaspur (C.G.) for offences u/s 420, 467 & 34 of I.P.C., against the present petitioner, in the interest of justice. 3) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to Quash the subsequent criminal proceedings including impugned order of taking cognizance dt. 23.07.2025 by Ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate, District Bilaspur (C.G.) for offences u/s 420, 467 & 34 of I.P.C. in Criminal Case No. 22142/2025, in the interest of justice. 4) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to Quash the impugned charges framed u/s 420, 467 & 34 of I.P.C., vide impugned order dt. 06.11.2025 against the petitioner and order dt. 06.11.2025 of framing of above charges passed by Ld. Chief Judicial Magistrate, District Bilaspur (C.G.) in Criminal Case No. 22142/2025, in the interest of justice. 5) This Hon'ble Court may be pleased to give such other relief(s) as this Hon'ble Court deems fit, in the interest of justice." 3. Brief facts of the case, in a nutshell, are....
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....w. 7. It is further the case of the petitioner that the foundational allegation regarding issuance of bogus or forged bills, which constitutes the very basis for invoking the offences of cheating and forgery under the IPC, is not borne out from the material collected during investigation. According to the petitioner, the final report submitted by the investigating agency does not contain any material demonstrating preparation, use or recovery of any forged or fabricated document attributable to the petitioner. In such circumstances, continuation of the criminal proceedings against the petitioner is stated to be unsustainable in law. 8. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned FIR, charge-sheet and the consequential criminal proceedings are wholly illegal, arbitrary and constitute a gross abuse of the process of law. It is contended that the allegations contained in the FIR, even if accepted in their entirety, essentially pertain to alleged discrepancies in tax returns and alleged tax evasion under the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005, which is a special fiscal statute providing a complete mechanism for assessment, reassessment, adju....
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....oner from the inception of the transaction, which is a sine qua non for constituting an offence under Section 420 IPC. Likewise, there is no allegation, recovery or material indicating preparation or use of any forged document so as to attract the offence punishable under Section 467 IPC. Significantly, the prosecution's principal allegation regarding issuance of bogus bills finds no mention in the final report submitted by the investigating agency. In the absence of any forged or fabricated document being attributed to the petitioner, continuation of prosecution for offences of cheating and forgery is wholly unwarranted and amounts to misuse of criminal law in what is essentially a fiscal dispute. 12. Learned counsel lastly submits that the materials collected during investigation themselves exonerate the petitioner and indicate the involvement of other persons. Reference is made to the statements of prosecution witnesses, particularly Pradeep Lanjhewar and Arjun Sahu, which allegedly disclose that one Sonu @ Piyush Singh was engaged in opening firms in the names of different individuals and was the person actually involved in generation of alleged bogus bills. It is furthe....
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....ngful gain to themselves and others. It is submitted that after completion of investigation, sufficient incriminating material was found against the petitioner and, therefore, charge-sheet has rightly been filed for offences punishable under Sections 420, 467 and 34 of the IPC. The correctness or otherwise of the allegations is a matter to be tested during trial and cannot be adjudicated in proceedings seeking quashment of criminal prosecution. 15. Learned State counsel also submits that the delay in filing of the charge-sheet has been adequately explained in the final report itself. The petitioner had allegedly absconded after registration of the crime and had shifted outside the State of Chhattisgarh. Despite continuous efforts, his whereabouts could not be traced for a considerable period and he was ultimately apprehended from Pune, Maharashtra on 29.05.2025 after tracing his mobile location. It is further submitted that the co-accused Sonu @ Piyush Singh continues to remain absconding despite extensive efforts undertaken by the investigating agency for securing his arrest. In such circumstances, the delay in completion of investigation cannot by itself be a ground for quashi....
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....le examining an FIR/complaint, quashing of which is sought, the Court cannot inquire about the reliability, genuineness, or otherwise of the allegations made in the FIR/complaint. The power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. (now 528 of the B.N.S.S.) is very wide, but conferment of wide power requires the Court to be cautious. The Apex Court has emphasized that though the Court has the power to quash the FIR in suitable cases, the Court, when it exercises power under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. (now 528 of B.N.S.S.), only has to consider whether or not the allegations of FIR disclose the commission of a cognizable offence and is not required to consider the case on merit. Further, while dismissing/disposing of/not entertaining/not quashing the criminal proceedings/complaint/FIR in exercise of powers under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. (now 528 of B.N.S.S.), final conclusions are as under:- "i) Police has the statutory right and duty under the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure contained in Chapter XIV of the Code to investigate into a cognizable offence; ii) Courts would not thwart any investigation into the cognizable offences; iii) It is only i....
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.... an onerous and more diligent duty on the court; xiv) However, at the same time, the court, if it thinks fit, regard being had to the parameters of quashing and the self-restraint imposed by law, more particularly the parameters laid down by this Court in the cases of R.P. Kapur (supra) and Bhajan Lal (supra), has the jurisdiction to quash the FIR/complaint; xv) When a prayer for quashing the FIR is made by the alleged accused and the court when it exercises the power under Section 482 Cr.P.C., only has to consider whether the allegations in the FIR disclose commission of a cognizable offence or not. The court is not required to consider on merits whether or not the merits of the allegations make out a cognizable offence and the court has to permit the investigating agency/police to investigate the allegations in the FIR; xvi) The aforesaid parameters would be applicable and/or the aforesaid aspects are required to be considered by the High Court while passing an interim order in a quashing petition in exercise of powers under Section 482 Cr.P.C. and/or under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. However, an interim order of stay of investigation duri....
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....nd only in exceptional circumstances. The Apex Court has held that while considering a prayer for quashing of an FIR, charge-sheet or criminal proceedings, the Court is not expected to conduct a mini trial or undertake a meticulous examination of the evidence collected during investigation. The scope of judicial scrutiny at such stage is confined to examining whether the allegations made in the FIR, the material collected during investigation and the charge-sheet, if accepted at their face value, disclose the commission of a cognizable offence and make out a prima facie case for proceeding against the accused. 21. The Hon'ble Supreme Court further observed that the High Court, while exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (now Section 528 of the BNSS), cannot enter into disputed questions of fact, evaluate the truthfulness or otherwise of the allegations, assess the evidentiary value of witness statements, or adjudicate upon the probable defence available to the accused. Such an exercise falls squarely within the province of the trial Court, which alone is competent to appreciate evidence after the parties have led their respective cases. ....
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.... warrant exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction under Section 528 of the BNSS. The charge19 sheet indicates that the prosecution has relied upon departmental records, returns filed before the Commercial Tax Department, data generated from the departmental software, bank account details and statements of various witnesses to prima facie establish that the petitioner, in concert with the co-accused, had engaged in transactions resulting in wrongful loss to the State revenue. Whether such material ultimately proves the guilt of the petitioner is a matter to be determined during trial on the basis of evidence adduced by the parties. 23. The principal contention of the petitioner that the dispute is purely governed by the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 and, therefore, the provisions of the Indian Penal Code could not have been invoked, cannot be accepted at this stage. It is well settled that merely because a transaction has civil, commercial or fiscal ramifications, criminal proceedings do not become untenable if the allegations prima facie disclose the ingredients of a criminal offence. The existence of remedies under a special statute does not, by itself,....
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....regime and thereafter utilized the said business entity for generating sales transactions vastly disproportionate to those disclosed in the statutory returns filed before the Commercial Tax Department. According to the prosecution, while the petitioner declared sales of approximately Rs.47.37 lakhs in the quarterly returns submitted to the Department, the data retrieved from the departmental portal and the online purchaser lists reflected sales transactions amounting to approximately Rs.356.25 lakhs. It is alleged that the discrepancy was occasioned by issuance of bogus sales invoices and fictitious transactions enabling various dealers to avail input tax credit to which they were not lawfully entitled, thereby causing wrongful loss to the State revenue to the tune of Rs. 17.81 lakhs. Whether the aforesaid allegations are ultimately proved or not is a matter for trial, but at this stage they undoubtedly disclose allegations extending beyond a mere fiscal irregularity and touching upon elements of deception and fraudulent conduct. 27. The charge-sheet further indicates that during investigation the investigating agency collected documentary material from the Commercial Tax Depart....
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....everal witnesses, has formed an opinion that sufficient material exists to prosecute the petitioner for offences punishable under Sections 420, 467 and 34 of the IPC. Whether the allegations are ultimately established or not is a matter which can only be determined upon appreciation of evidence during trial. 29. The submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioner regarding the exclusive applicability of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, the absence of reassessment proceedings under Section 22 thereof, the alleged requirement of prior sanction, the contention that the alleged acts constitute only fiscal violations and not criminal offences, the plea that the co-accused Sonu @ Piyush Singh was the principal offender, the assertion that the tax liability has already been discharged, and the challenge to the correctness of the departmental findings, are all matters which involve disputed questions of fact as well as mixed questions of law and fact. Adjudication of such issues would necessarily require a detailed examination of the statutory framework, departmental records, documentary evidence, witness testimonies and other materials collected during investigation. Such an exer....