Case Law Details
Sanjay Kumar Bhuwalka Vs Union of India (Calcutta High Court)
Mr. K.K. Maity learned Advocate for Union of India opposite party herein submitted that the petitioner Shri Sanjay Kumar Bhuwalka and Neeraj Jain were arrested on 12.05.2018 due to their involvement in the business of generating and selling of fake tax invoices to various entities without supplying the underlying goods or services, thereby facilitating irregular availment and utilization of input tax credit by such entities to whom such fake invoices were issued.
Mr. Sekhar Basu, learned senior counsel for the petitioners stressed on the word reasons to believe appearing in section 69(1) of the Act contending that a Statute, be it of any nature, civil, criminal, quasi criminal or quasi civil has a definite destination to reach which in legal parlance is described as “attainment of the object for which the law has been enacted for” and to analyse the character of a statute, it has to be read as a whole and then and then only its true character and application can be understood.
GST Act of 2017 is essentially a fiscal statute and the statement of object and reason has to be read together which is aimed at realization of revenue. Revenue is the monetary payment due to the government and non-payment, whatever be the means applied for such non-payment confers right on the government, both Central and State, to realize the revenue whereas penal provision of arrest and detention is only when there is violation of the provision under the statute which is not the intention of the legislature to achieve the fiscal object regardless of the existence of a provision for the arrest of the offender in the Act.
It is settled position of law that grant of bail is a rule and rejection of bail is an exception. Maximum punishment provided in the Act is for a term of five years. The accused persons were arrested on 12.5.2018 and investigation has to be concluded within 60 days from the date of arrest as per provision of Section 167(2) of Cr.P.C. In view of submission of Mr. Maity investigation is still going on and will take a considerable period of time in conclusion of investigation to submit a final report against the accused petitioners to face the trial in open Court. 60 days period is going to lapse on 10.7.2018 so obviously he would be entitled to statutory bail. That apart, I have considered the submission of Mr. Basu in regard to Section 134 and 138 of the Act the object and reason of this Act is obviously to realise the revenue to the Government Exchequer and bearing in mind the provision of compounding nature of the offence under Section 138 of the Act.
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