Faiz Ahmed Vs State of AP (Guwahati High Court)
The Guwahati High Court granted anticipatory bail to an applicant, Faiz Ahmed, accused in a case involving a large-scale Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud, after determining that his custodial interrogation was no longer necessary and noting that the principal accused had already been released on default bail. The case, Itanagar P.S. Case No. 182/2024, was registered based on an FIR lodged by the CGST & CX Itanagar Commissionerate, alleging that a firm, M/S Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants, had fraudulently obtained a GST ID using forged documents, including a fake seal of a Judicial Magistrate, a forged rent agreement, and fake identity documents.
The fictitious firm was accused of raising fake invoices totaling approximately Rs. 658.25 Crores and illegally passing fake Input Tax Credits worth Rs. 199.31 Crores to 58 firms across 11 states, resulting in a substantial loss to the government exchequer. The main accused in the conspiracy was identified as Ashutosh Kumar Jha. The applicant, Faiz Ahmed, who runs a small business in West Bengal, approached the court seeking pre-arrest bail, fearing arrest due to his alleged connection with Ashutosh Kumar Jha.
The applicant explained that his connection to Jha stemmed from a prior professional relationship with a deceased Chartered Accountant, Late Asis Kumar Jha, from whom he had taken a loan. After the CA’s death, Ashutosh Kumar Jha, a former employee, took over the professional work and loan recovery communications, which led to their interaction. The applicant contended that he was unaware of and not connected to the fraudulent business activities of M/S Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants run by Ashutosh Kumar Jha and had already cooperated with the investigation.
