Pramod Chandra Navik S/o Shri Phool Chand Vs Union of India (Rajasthan High Court)
Summary: The Rajasthan High Court, Bench at Jaipur, considered S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 13050/2026 filed by Pramod Chandra Navik against the Union of India. The order was passed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bipin Gupta on 24 August 2026.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the petitioner had been falsely implicated in the alleged GST/ITC fraud. It was submitted that he had resigned as Director of the concerned company on 12.07.2024, whereas the alleged bogus firms and transactions came into existence only from October 2025 onwards. According to the petitioner, there was therefore no factual or chronological nexus between him and the alleged offences.
The petitioner also challenged the finding of non-cooperation recorded while rejecting anticipatory bail on 28.07.2026. It was submitted that he had appeared through authorised counsel on 19.06.2026, sought two weeks’ time and communicated the same by email along with his vakalatnama, after which no further summons was issued to him.
It was further submitted that the petitioner had neither been arrayed as an accused nor made a noticee in any show-cause notice and had only been summoned under Section 70 of the CGST Act. The petitioner’s counsel contended that the investigation was based entirely on documentary and digital evidence, including invoices, e-way bills, banking records and GST portal data, which were already in the possession of the investigating agency. On that basis, it was submitted that custodial interrogation was neither necessary nor warranted.
