TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (8) TMI 909
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.... circumstances, the present Applicant shall not be arrested for a period of one week, if the order under Section 69 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is passed, from the date of intimation of such order to the Applicant." 3. At the outset, we record that the respondent has not laid a challenge to the order of the High Court rejecting his prayer for pre-arrest bail before this Court. 4. While there has been minimal dispute over the facts before us, those necessary for the adjudication of the issues that arise are noted hereunder: a. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Mumbai Zonal Unit [Department], was investigating M/s Alphaneon Techsolutions Pvt. Ltd. and its group entities allegedly for wrongfully availing and passing of Input Tax Credit (ITC) without actual supply of goods or services, circular invoicing, and non-payment of GST on import of services. During inspection of the registered premises, the respondent, Sunil Biyani, was found present and acknowledged the inspection. b. During the investigation, the Department issued three summonses under Section 70 of CGST Act to the respondent. Instead of appearing, the respondent ....
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....st for a period of one week of communication of the order passed under Section 69, CGST Act while dismissing the application. 8. As far back as 1951, a 5-judge Bench of this Court in State of Orissa v. Madan Gopal Rungta 1951 SCC 1024, albeit in the context of writ jurisdiction, laid down the law that a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India cannot be used for the sole purpose of issuing interim relief when the high court is of the considered opinion that the petition itself is not maintainable. It held so on the established principle that an interim relief can only be in the aid of and ancillary to the main relief. This principle, reiterated in several other decisions of this Court, was recently noticed and echoed by this Court in Mangal Rajendra Kamthe v. Tahsildar, Purandhar 2026 SCC OnLine SC 297. 9. In the context of criminal matters, while dealing with orders dismissing petitions seeking quashing of FIR or charge-sheet, this Court specifically examined whether a high court could grant further relief against arrest for a specific period or till the completion of trial. Relying on Madan Gopal Rungta (supra), this Court speaking through Hon'ble K.S.P. Radh....
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....er relief after dismissal of the writ, does not arise. Consequently, once a writ is dismissed, all the interim reliefs granted would also go." 10. Concurring with the observations made by Hon'ble Radhakrishnan, J., Hon'ble Dr. A.K. Sikri, J., expounded further in these words: "25. Another aspect which is highlighted in the judgment rendered by Radhakrishnan, J. is that many times in the writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking quashing of the FIR or the chargesheet, the petitioners pray for interim relief against arrest. While entertaining the writ petition the High Court invariably grants such an interim relief. It is rightly pointed out that once the writ petition claiming main relief for quashing of FIR or the charge-sheet itself is dismissed, the question of granting further relief after dismissal of the writ petition, does not arise. It is so explained in para 22 of the judgment of my learned Brother. 26. I would like to remark that in the absence of any provisions like Section 438 CrPC applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh, there is a tendency on the part of the accused persons, against whom FIR is lodged and/or charge....
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....2 which is punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of sub-section (1), or sub-section (2) of the said section, he may, by order, authorise any officer of central tax to arrest such person. (2) Where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) for an offence specified under sub-section (5) of section 132, the officer authorised to arrest the person shall inform such person of the grounds of arrest and produce him before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours. (3) Subject to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, - (a) where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) for any offence specified under sub-section (4) of section 132, he shall be admitted to bail or in default of bail, forwarded to the custody of the Magistrate; (b) in the case of a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner shall, for the purpose of releasing an arrested person on bail or otherwise, have the same powers and be subject to the same provisions as an officer-in-charge of a police station." (emphasis ours) 15. Sub-section (1) of Section 69 grants the Commissioner the power to authorise any officer to arr....
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....arrest of such person. In any case, communication of the order would not, in any manner, obstruct the investigation ensued by the department. On the contrary, it reinforces the right of the accused to seek anticipatory bail as stipulated in Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2020) 5 SCC 1. 19. A 5-Judge Bench of this Court in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 565, which has also been relied upon by the Bench in Radhika Agarwal (supra), intertwined personal liberty as an important facet of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [CrPC] (equivalent to Section 482, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 [BNSS]) and cautioned against an interpretation which imposes unreasonable restrictions. The instructive passage from Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia (supra) reads thus: "26. We find a great deal of substance in Mr Tarkunde's submission that since denial of bail amounts to deprivation of personal liberty, the court should lean against the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the scope of Section 438, especially when no such restrictions have been imposed by the legislature in the terms of that section. Section 438 is a procedural prov....