Hari Shankar Sharma Vs Union of India (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court considered three bail applications filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 by the accused in a GST fraud case registered under Sections 132(1)(b), 132(1)(c), and 132(1)(i) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The applicants were alleged to have been involved in a network of inter-linked entities engaged in generating and circulating fictitious Input Tax Credit (ITC) without any actual supply of goods. According to the complaint filed by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Meerut Zonal Unit, the accused allegedly used multiple non-existent or dummy firms to issue invoices without underlying transactions and thereby fraudulently avail and pass on ITC. Scrutiny of GST returns indicated large-scale fraudulent ITC transactions between April 2020 and July 2025 through entities such as M/s Madhuban Trading Company, M/s WMCA Trade Mart Private Limited, M/s Hari Shankar Sharma HUF, and M/s Omtex. The alleged fraud involved amounts exceeding ₹100 crore, including fraudulent ITC of ₹45.79 crore availed by one firm, ₹15.48 crore availed by another, ₹28.16 crore by an HUF entity, and ₹14.17 crore by another entity.
The applicants argued that they had been falsely implicated, had no prior criminal history, and had been in custody since October or November 2025. They submitted that the investigation had concluded, the complaint had been filed, and the case was primarily based on documentary evidence. They relied on several judicial precedents where bail had been granted in similar cases, including decisions of the Supreme Court and coordinate benches of the High Court, arguing that the offences carried a maximum sentence of five years and were triable by a Magistrate.
Comments are closed.