Venkatasubbaiah C vs. Superintendent Of Central Tax
Held
The High Court allowed the anticipatory bail petition, holding that mere cancellation of a supplier's GST registration or their non-existence is insufficient to prove fraudulent ITC claims without prima facie evidence of collusion. The Court emphasized that custodial interrogation should be avoided if the accused cooperates and has no criminal antecedents.
Facts
Petitioners, a proprietrix and her husband managing a recycling firm, sought anticipatory bail after being summoned by GST authorities. They were accused of claiming fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) based on bogus invoices from fictitious suppliers, leading to alleged offences under Sections 69 and 132 of the CGST Act.
Key Issues
Whether the petitioners were entitled to anticipatory bail for alleged GST offences involving fraudulent ITC claims, particularly when the suppliers' registrations were cancelled or they were untraceable. The key issue was the sufficiency of evidence to establish a prima facie case of collusion for fraudulent ITC claims.
Sections Cited
Section 69, Section 70, Section 132, Section 132(1)(a), Section 132(1)(b), Section 132(1)(c), Section 132(5), Section 135, Section 138
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
- 1 -
HC-KAR
CNR: KAHC010422142026 NC: 2026:KHC:43012 CRL.P No. 9023 of 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 12TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 9023 OF 2026 BETWEEN:
VENKATASUBBAIAH C S/O SUBBAIAH AGED ABOUT 44 YEARS RESIDING AT NO.66 1ST MAIN ROAD, 5TH CROSS VIGNESHWARA NAGARA HEROHALLI, BANGALORE - 560 091 MANAGING PERSON OF M/S SRI LAKSHMI VENAKTESHWARA ENTERPRISES.
SMT. GURAMMA C W/O VENKATASUBBAIAH C AGED ABOUT 41 YEARS RESIDING AT NO.66 1ST MAIN ROAD, 5TH CROSS VIGNESHWARA NAGARA HEROHALLI, BANGALORE - 560 091 PROPRIETRIX OF M/S SRI LAKSHMI VENAKTESHWARA ENTERPRISES. …PETITIONERS (BY SRI SHREEHARI, ADV.) AND:
SUPERINTENDENT OF CENTRAL TAX HQRS ANTI EVASION BENGALURU EAST COMMISSIONERATE TTMC BUILDING, ABOVE BMTC BUS STAND OLD AIRPORT ROAD, DOMALURU BENGALURU - 560 071. 2. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL NANDINI M S Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA HC-KAR
CNR:
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
Reproduced from the public record of the Karnataka High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.