Jai Kumar Aggarwal Vs Directorate General of GST Intelligence And 3 Others (Allahabad High Court)
The habeas corpus petition challenged the legality of the petitioner’s arrest under Sections 67 and 69 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act), and the subsequent remand order dated 17.01.2026 passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Meerut. The petitioner was detained on 29.12.2025 during search proceedings and formally arrested on 16.01.2026. He contended that neither the “grounds of arrest” nor the “reasons to believe,” as required under Section 69 of the CGST Act and judicial precedents, were furnished to him at the time of arrest. He relied upon the Supreme Court’s decisions, including Radhika Agrawal v. Union of India, Satendra Kumar Antil v. CBI, and Mihir Rajesh Shah v. State of Maharashtra, and referred to departmental circulars mandating procedural safeguards, including written communication of grounds of arrest as an annexure to the arrest memo.
The respondents argued that “reasons to believe” are internal documents required only to be recorded by the Commissioner and need not be supplied to the accused. They maintained that the arrest was lawful, that grounds of arrest were communicated, and that the CGST Act is a complete code. It was further contended that the vires of Section 69 had already been upheld.
