Central Goods and Service Tax Vs Yogesh Gupta (Gurugram CJM Court)
Summary: The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Gurugram ruled the arrest of Yogesh Gupta by a GST officer as illegal in the case Central Goods and Services Tax v. Yogesh Gupta [CNR No. HRGR03-005388-2025]. The court observed that the GST officer failed to comply with provisions under Section 41 and 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Act (BNSS Act), 2023. The court highlighted that while the accused acknowledged receiving written grounds of arrest, this action was deemed insufficient as the procedural safeguards mandated for offenses punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years were not followed. The CJM reiterated that notices under Section 41A should have been issued before the arrest, given the nature of the offense under Section 132(1) of the CGST Act, which carries a sentence of five years. The prosecution argued that the arrest was lawful under Section 69 of the CGST Act and that the provisions of the CrPC were not applicable to special laws like the CGST Act. However, the court rejected this contention, referencing previous judgments, including Akhil Krishan Maggu v. Deputy Director and State of Gujarat v. Choodamani Parme Shwaran Iyer, which establish that the procedural safeguards of the CrPC must be adhered to even under the CGST Act. Consequently, the CJM ruled the arrest as unlawful and granted the accused’s release. The court also allowed the department the liberty to re-arrest after complying with the procedural requirements under Section 41, 41A of CrPC, and Section 35 of BNSS Act.
