Trishna Barman Vs The Union of India (Gauhati High Court)
Summary: The Gauhati High Court considered an application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, read with Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, seeking bail for Smti Trishna Barman. She had been arrested on 20.07.2026 in connection with Case No. CT/GIE/ARST/2026/09 under Section 132(5) of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the evidence required for the investigation was documentary and electronic in nature and that the petitioner had remained in custody for more than 33 days. It was contended that her release on appropriate conditions would not hamper the investigation and that she undertook to participate fully and cooperate with the investigation whenever required.
Reliance was placed on the order dated 28.04.2024 in Criminal Appeal No. 2269/2025, referred to in the order as Vineet Jain Vs. Union of India. The petitioner submitted that the Supreme Court had observed that where an accused had remained in custody for almost seven months, the case was triable by a Judicial Magistrate, the maximum sentence was five years, the prosecution was based on documentary evidence and there were no antecedents, bail would ordinarily be warranted unless extraordinary circumstances existed.
