Rohitkumar Parsotambhai Sanghani Vs State of Gujarat & Anr. (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court considered an application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 seeking regular bail in connection with F.No. DGGI/INV/GST/2590/2025-Gr B registered by the Intelligence Officer, DGGI Surat Zonal Unit, Surat. The case involved alleged offences punishable under Sections 132(1)(b) and 132(1)(c) of the Central/Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act.
The Court heard submissions from the learned advocate for the applicant, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor representing the State, and the learned Senior Standing Counsel appearing for respondent no.2. Rule was issued and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor waived service of rule on behalf of the respondent-State.
The applicant sought regular bail on the ground that considering the role attributed to him and the nature of the allegations, continued detention would serve no useful purpose. The applicant also expressed willingness to comply with any conditions imposed by the Court if bail were granted.
The State opposed the bail application. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that the nature of the offence and the role attributed to the applicant did not justify the exercise of judicial discretion in favour of granting bail.
After hearing the parties and examining the record, the Court considered several aspects. It noted that the applicant was an advocate and the allegation was that he had filed fraudulent GST returns knowing that the companies for which such returns were filed were non-existent. The Court further observed that the applicant had given a statement under Section 70 of the Act in which he admitted that he was aware that some of the firms were non-functional and fake entities created solely for fraudulent availment and passing of input tax credit without actual supply of goods.
