TMI Blog2023 (6) TMI 938X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... VESTIGATION [ 2013 (5) TMI 896 - SUPREME COURT ], the Hon'ble Supreme Court was dealing with allegations of offences which were punishable with upto life imprisonment, but in the present case, the maximum punishment that can be imposed upon the applicant is five years' imprisonment. Moreover, the offence is compoundable as per the provision contained in Section 138 of the CGST Act, sub-Section (1) whereof provides that Any offence under this Act may, either before or after the institution of prosecution, be compounded by the Commissioner on payment, by the person accused of the offence, to the Central Government or the State Government, as the case be, of such compounding amount in such manner as may be prescribed . Analyzing the facts of the case in light of the law as explained in the case of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy [ 2013 (5) TMI 896 - SUPREME COURT ], Dataram Singh [ 2018 (2) TMI 410 - SUPREME COURT ] and Satender Kumar Antil [ 2022 (8) TMI 152 - SUPREME COURT ], it has to be taken into consideration that coaccused persons of the present case have already been enlarged on bail; charge-sheet/complaint has already been filed before the Trial Court; and, therefore, it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mited and M/s JBN Impax Private Limited though the period covered under investigation was different. In the backdrop of the aforesaid facts, the competent authority in order to avoid any duplication, decided that investigation in respect of the aforesaid Firms being investigated by the DGGI, Hora shall be centralized to DGGI, Meerut Zonal Unit and this fact was also brought to the notice of the Delhi High Court where the accused-applicant has initiated certain legal proceedings. 5. It is said that the applicant-accused in his statement had admitted that he looks after the day-to-day affairs of both these companies. From the 'Panchnamas' drawn at the registered premises of M/s Relycare Metal Trading Private Limited, M/s State Metal Enterprises, M/s Classic Metcraft Impex and M/s Kalikaa Industries Private Limited from which all those suppliers were found to be on-existent. It is said that Amit Gupta has masterminded fraudulent availment of fake/ineligible Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs. 46.54 crore in his companies i.e. M/s Progressive Alloys India Limited and M/s Brilliant Metals Private Limited during the period March 2019 to January, 2021 on the basis of bogus invoices w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pplicant has submitted that the applicant is in jail since 19.1.2023 and the applicant is no more required for any investigation as complaint/charge-sheet has already been filed before the Trial Court at Meerut. It has also been pointed out that most of the witnesses are government officials and there is no likelihood of applicant influencing the witnesses. Even otherwise, the case is based on documentary evidences which are already on record and hence there is no requirement of applicant to remain confine in jail. 11. It has also been urged that even assuming, though not admitted that the applicant is guilty of offence, then too maximum punishment is upto five years whereas the applicant is in jail since January, 2023. 12. It has also been pointed that the co-accused persons of the case, namely, Anand Rastogi, Gulshan Sharma and Manish have already been enlarged on bail by the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Meerut. In these circumstances, the applicant is also entitled for bail as he is languishing in jail since January, 2023. 13. Lastly, it has been argued that in an identical case pertaining to tax evasion matter of Ghaziabad Regional Unit, Meerut the accused Paras ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd forgery for the purpose of cheating using as genuine a forged document. The punishment for the offence is imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years. It is, no doubt, true that the nature of the charge may be relevant, but at the same time, the punishment to which the party may be liable, if convicted, also bears upon the issue. Therefore, in determining whether to grant bail, both the seriousness of the charge and the severity of the punishment should be taken into consideration. 18. The grant or refusal to grant bail lies within the discretion of the court. The grant or denial is regulated, to a large extent, by the facts and circumstances of each particular case. But at the same time, right to bail is not to be denied merely because of the sentiments of the community against the accused. The primary purposes of bail in a criminal case are to relieve the accused of imprisonment, to relieve the State of the burden of keeping him incarceration, pending the trial, and at the same time, to keep the accused constructively in the custody of the court, whether before or after conviction. Therefore, to assure that he will submit to the jurisdiction of the court and be i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... refusal is the exception so as to ensure that the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial. However, while considering the same the gravity of the offence is an aspect which is required to be kept in view by the Court. The gravity for the said purpose will have to be gathered from the facts and circumstances arising in each case. Keeping in view the consequences that would befall on the society in cases of financial irregularities, it has been held that even economic offences would fall under the category of grave offence and in such circumstance while considering the application for bail in such matters, the Court will have to deal with the same, being sensitive to the nature of allegation made against the accused. One of the circumstances to consider the gravity of the offence is also the term of sentence that is prescribed for the offence the accused is alleged to have committed. Such consideration with regard to the gravity of offence is a factor which is in addition to the triple test or the tripod test that would be normally applied. In that regard what is also to be kept in perspective is that even if the allegation is one of grave economic offence, it is not a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on is discretionary, it has to be exercised with great care and caution by balancing the valuable right of liberty of an individual and the interest of the society in general. In our view, the reasoning adopted by the learned District Judge, which is affirmed by the High Court, in our opinion, is a denial of the whole basis of our system of law and normal rule of bail system. It transcends respect for the requirement that a man shall be considered innocent until he is found guilty. If such power is recognised, then it may lead to chaotic situation and would jeopardize the personal liberty of an individual. 22. Analyzing the facts of the case in light of the law as explained in the case of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Dataram Singh and Satender Kumar Antil (Supra) , it has to be taken into consideration that coaccused persons of the present case have already been enlarged on bail; charge-sheet/complaint has already been filed before the Trial Court; and, therefore, it cannot be said that now the applicant is in a position to influence the investigation of the case. Apart from the aforesaid facts, it is not disputed that the the applicant is languishing in jail since January, 2023 a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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