"Cannot Be Detained In Custody Indefinitely": Supreme Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Evading GST To Extent Of ₹64 Crore

Noting that a person accused of evading GST to the tune of Rs. 64 crore has undergone a period of almost 50% of the sentence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted him bail while observing that detention cannot be indefinite.

The bail was granted by the bench of Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh while considering a SLP assailing Gujarat High Court's order dated April 26, 2021.

While allowing the appeal, the bench in Paresh Nathalal Chauhan v. The State Of Gujarat & Anr said,

"On conspectus of the aforesaid matter, we are of the view that the appellant cannot be indefinitely detained in custody more so having already undergone a period of 25 months of custody when he can be sent behind bars for maximum five years. It is almost 50% of the sentence. Complaint has been filed."

Counsel for the appellant laid emphasis on the fact that the proceedings arising from evasion of GST were preceded by a search operation where the concerned officers occupied the house for more than a week with lady members.

He further contended that the appellant had been in custody for 25 months out of a total period of 5 years for which he could be sentenced and that the investigation was stated to be pending though a complaint had been filed. Counsel stated that the officer's endeavor was to teach him a lesson for initiating proceedings which had resulted in adverse orders against them.

Court's attention was also drawn by the appellant's counsel on the counter affidavit filed by the State where the allegation against the officer was that he played an important role in execution of the scam and that a confidential investigation was still under way in order to identify these persons and the role played in the execution of the scam.

On the other hand, ASG SV Raju while defending the order submitted that the appellant should not be enlarged on bail as he was a habitual offender who had earlier been engaged in violation of law as per earlier provision. ASG also argued that a number of accused were absconding and only on their being taken into custody the root problem would be detected where the evasion was to the extent of 64 crores.

Directing the appellant to be careful not to indulge in such activities in future, the bench said,

"We do believe the stand of the respondent was also coloured by the proceedings taken out by the appellant/ family members qua the conduct of the officers which has visited them with some adverse consequences though certain proceedings are still pending qua the same."

Case Title: Paresh Nathalal Chauhan v. The State Of Gujarat & Anr.| Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) Nos.9458-9459/2021

Coram: Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh

Counsels For Appellant: Advocate(s) D.N. Ray, Chetan Pandya, Dillip Kumar Nayak, Disha Ray and Sumita Ray

Counsels For State: ASG S.V. Raju, Advocate(s) Aastha Mehta, Sairica Raju and Deepanwita Priyanka

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