Sushil Kumar Singla Vs State of UT Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court considered a petition under Section 482 CrPC seeking quashing of an FIR registered in December 2019 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, along with the police report, order dated 13.04.2023, and all consequential proceedings, insofar as they related to the petitioner. The FIR arose from allegations that a proprietary concern obtained GST registration through fraudulent means and engaged in transactions involving large taxable supplies without corresponding business activity, supported by alleged fake documents. The prosecution alleged the petitioner’s involvement in conceptualising and supervising the creation of a fake firm and generation of bogus invoices to claim wrongful input tax credit.
The petitioner contended that he had no ownership or professional association with the firm and that no evidence connected him to the alleged acts. It was argued that the matter essentially concerned tax evasion governed by the UTGST/CGST Acts, which are special statutes providing a complete mechanism for assessment, penalties, and prosecution. The petitioner further submitted that criminal proceedings under the IPC were barred, particularly as tax recovery proceedings had already been initiated, and that mandatory sanction under Section 132(6) of the CGST Act had not been obtained.
