Manoj Kumar Garg vs. Union Of INDIA
Facts
The petitioner, Manoj Kumar Garg, sought release on bail in a complaint case filed under Sections 132(1)(c) and 132(1)(i) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act. The complaint was lodged by the Additional Directorate General, DGGI, GST, Ghaziabad Regional Unit, Meerut Zonal Unit, Meerut. The petitioner had previously been enlarged on short-term bail during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was extended by the Apex Court. However, the petitioner failed to appear before the concerned court after the expiry of the extended bail period and remained at large. The petitioner's counsel submitted that the bail application be dismissed as not pressed, with a liberty to the petitioner to appear before the concerned court within two weeks and apply for bail, which the court should decide on merits expeditiously, considering the petitioner did not misuse the liberty of short-term bail.
Held
The Court dismissed the instant bail application as not pressed. It granted liberty to the applicant, Manoj Kumar Garg, to appear before the concerned court within two weeks from the date of the order and apply for bail. The Court directed that if the applicant appears and applies for bail within the stipulated period, the concerned court shall decide his bail application on its merits, expeditiously, and in accordance with law. The Court noted the submission that the applicant had been released on short-term bail and had not misused that liberty, and this factor was to be considered by the concerned court while deciding the fresh bail application. No specific issues regarding the merits of the GST charges were decided, as the application was dismissed as not pressed.
Key Issues
1. Whether the bail application should be dismissed as not pressed, given the petitioner's failure to appear before the concerned court after the expiry of his short-term bail, and his current non-custodial status. Contentions: Petitioner: The petitioner argued that the bail application should be dismissed as not pressed. They sought liberty for the petitioner to appear before the concerned court within two weeks and apply for bail. They further requested that the court decide the bail application on its merits expeditiously, taking into account that the petitioner was initially released on short-term bail and had not misused that liberty. Revenue (Union of India): The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondent-Union of India regarding the dismissal of the bail application as not pressed or the conditions for future bail.
Sections Cited
Section 132(1)(c), Section 132(1)(i)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Court No. - 84 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 23779 of 2022 Applicant :- Manoj Kumar Garg Opposite Party :- Union of India Counsel for Applicant :- Mamta Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- A.S.G.I.,Parv Agarwal Hon'ble Sameer Jain,J.
Heard Sri V.P. Srivastava, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Ms. Mamta Singh, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Parv Agarwal, learned counsel for the respondent-Union of India.
The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in complaint case No. 88 of 2020, under Sections 132(1)(c) and 132(1)(i) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, filed by Additional Directorate General, DGGI, GST, Ghaziabad Regional Unit, Meerut Zonal Unit, Meerut.
At the very outset, Sri V.P. Srivastava, learned Senior Counsel submitted that applicant was enlarged on short term bail during Covid-19 Pandemic and his short term bail was extended, time to time by the order of the Apex court but after that he did not appear before the court concerned and even till date, he is not in custody, therefore, he submits that the instant bail application of the applicant may be dismissed as not pressed with liberty that if applican
The judgment continues below.
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