Javed Akhtar Vs Union of India (Allahabad High Court)
Summary: Allahabad High Court allowed the bail application of Javed Akhtar, who was in custody since 29 January 2026 in Case Crime No. 486 of 2021 under Sections 132(1)(c) and 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act, 2017. The allegation against the applicant was that he had fraudulently availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) on invoices issued by non-existent firms. The applicant contended that the transactions related to 2020, searches were conducted in 2021, he had not created any forged firm, the transactions were bona fide business transactions, investigation had been completed and the maximum punishment prescribed was five years. He also disclosed one previous criminal case under the CGST Act.
The opposite party opposed bail on the ground of the applicant’s criminal history and submitted that he had earlier been released pursuant to a Supreme Court order during COVID-19 but had not surrendered within the stipulated period. On criminal antecedents, the High Court referred to Ash Mohammad Vs. Shiv Raj Singh, (2012) 9 SCC 446 and Prabhakar Tewari Vs. State of U.P. and another, 2020 (11) SCC 648. It observed that criminal history by itself could not justify refusal of bail where no exceptional circumstances had been shown and there was no material suggesting that the applicant would tamper with evidence, intimidate witnesses or evade the process of law.
