S.Raghunadha Gupta vs. Directorate General Of GST Intelligence

Held

The Court decided to relax the condition imposed on the petitioner for granting bail. The reasoning was based on the petitioner's consistent compliance with the bail condition since 2019 and the fact that the condition had already been relaxed twice. The Court found these circumstances sufficient to warrant further relaxation. The specific bail condition that was relaxed was the requirement for the petitioner to appear before the concerned Court every Monday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm until the charge sheet is filed. The Court allowed IA No.1 of 2023, thereby granting the requested relaxation. No issues were expressly left undecided.

Facts

This matter concerns an application (IA No.1 of 2023) filed before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh to relax a condition imposed while granting bail to the petitioner in Criminal Petition No.899 of 2019. The original bail was granted on 01.03.2019 and modified on 03.09.2019. The condition under challenge required the petitioner to appear before the concerned Court every Monday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm until the charge sheet was filed. The Revenue, represented by the learned Special Standing Counsel for Commercial Tax, opposed the relaxation, noting that the condition had already been relaxed twice. The petitioner had been attending court as per the orders since 2019.

Key Issues

1. Whether the condition imposed for granting bail, requiring the petitioner to appear before the concerned Court every Monday until the charge sheet is filed, should be relaxed, considering the petitioner has been complying with this condition since 2019 and the condition has been relaxed twice previously. Arguments for the Petitioner: The petitioner argued for the relaxation of the bail condition, citing their consistent appearance before the court since 2019 and the fact that the condition had already been relaxed twice. The petitioner sought this relaxation based on the reasons stated in the accompanying affidavit. Arguments for the Revenue: The Revenue opposed the relaxation of the condition, primarily on the grounds that the condition had already been relaxed twice. They did not present any further arguments or rely on specific provisions or precedents.