Tirthankar Patel vs. State Of Odisha
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
ORDER 20.05.2022
1. The matter is taken up through hybrid arrangement (virtual/physical) mode.
This is the successive journey of the Petitioner who being in custody in connection with 2(C) CC Case No.32 of 2021 pending on the file of learned S.D.J.M., Titilagarh, registered for commission of offences punishable under section 132 (1)/132(b) of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short called as ‘OGST Act’, and facing the trial, in filing this Application under Section-439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for his release on bail in the above mentioned case.
The prosecution allegations run to the effect that the accused has produced false GST bills of huge amount in crores causing loss to the State exchequer. It is submitted that the Petitioner being the Proprietor of M/s. Sai International Mines & Minerals, Bolangir having GSTIN number by merely showing to be carrying out the trading activities of Re-melting scrap Ingots of Iron or Steel waste and scrap of cast iron; on receipt of some
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informations as to clandestine business activities by the Petitioner, being asked by the Sales Tax Officer, CT & GST Unit, Bolangir, in course of inquiry, did not produce the required vital documents such as purchase and sale invoices, Bank statements, IT returns, purchase, sale and stock registers etc. for the required period and he has rather admitted to have issued bogus invoices without physical movement of the goods and has availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) wrongfully and also to have passed on fake ITC to the recipients of other States without any such physical dispatch/ movement of the goods. It is stated that the Petitioner therefore intentionally avoided to produce the books of accounts and available records. So, it is said that the Petitioner has been defrauding the State Exchequer as can be seen from the GST portal which shows that the Petitioner had purchased iron and steel goods worth of about Rs. 84.68 crores having the involvement of ITC worth about Rs.12.85 crores.
Learned Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner has made all genuine sales and purchases of goods using genuine GSTIN and has paid the GST. He further submitted that the trial is continuing and some witnesses have already been examined. It is stated that the Petitioner being arrested in the case is in custody since 08.08.2019. He further submitted that this Petitioner being once granted with the interim bail having surrendered in Court is in custody and it is also not stated that during the period he had misused the liberty. In view of all these above, he urged for reconsideration of the prayer for grant of bail to the Petitioner as according to him, further detention of the Petitioner in custody in connection with the case
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would serve no useful purpose except standing to the sufferance of the Petitioner and his family members.
Learned Additional Standing Counsel for the CT & GST opposes the move. He submitted that the prayer for grant of bail to the Petitioner having earlier been rejected, there is no change in the circumstances for reconsideration of the said prayer. According to him, the Petitioner being involved in commission of economic offences, on the face of the materials collected in showing that the Petitioner had all the roles in defrauding the State exchequer to the tune of huge sum by passing of bogus ITC and receiving the ITC simply by reflecting the transactions in the papers without physical movement of the goods and services and in the process has created numerous fake documents such as invoices, bills etc; merely basing on the factum of detention of the Petitioner in custody since 08.08.2019, this move for release of the Petitioner on bail has to fail. He however submitted to have received no adverse report as regards conduct of the Petitioner in any way detrimental to the interest of the prosecution during the period when he was on interim bail.
In the given case, the Petitioner is facing the trial for commission of offence under section-132(1)(b)(c)(2) of the OGST Act, 2017. The maximum punishment prescribed thereunder is imprisonment for a term of five years and with fine in case the amount of tax evaded or the ITC wrongly availed or utilized or amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs. 500.00 lakh. In the trial several witnesses have already been examined. When the prosecution case here is based on the documentary evidence in respect of so called clandestine business activities, all
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such required documents which the Complainant/ Authority propose to utilize against the Petitioner in the trial are either in their custody of the Complainant/ Authority or in custody of the Court to which the Petitioner is having no more the access.
In view of all the aforesaid and under the circumstances of the case on hand, when no other materials are placed to support that further detention of the Petitioner still stands as of necessity; this Court feels inclined to reconsider the prayer for grant of bail to the Petitioner.
Accordingly, it is directed that the Petitioner be released on bail on furnishing bail bound of Rs.50,00,000/- (Rupees Fifty Lakhs) with two sureties for the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Court in seisin of the case with the following conditions that:- (i) the Petitioner shall not in any manner make any inducement, threat or promise to the prosecution witnesses so as to dissuade them from disclosing truth before the Court and shall not tamper with the evidence; (ii) the Petitioner shall not be indulge himself in similar activity; (iii) the Petitioner shall surrender his Passport, if any, before the learned Court in seisin of the case and will not leave India without prior permission of the Court and in the event the Petitioner has not been issued with any Passport, he would submit an affidavit stating the said fact; and
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(iv) the Petitioner shall appear before the Court in seisin of the case in person on each date of posting of the case till conclusion of the trial.
Violation of any of the above condition(s) shall entail cancellation of bail.
The BLAPL is accordingly disposed of.
Issue urgent certified copy as per rules.
(D. Dash), Judge. Narayan
Reproduced from the public record of the Orissa High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.