Jashanpal Singh Vs Union of India (Punjab Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court passed a common order disposing of two petitions, CRM-M-53422-2025 and CRM-M-62114-2025, arising from the same complaint and involving common questions of fact and law. CRM-M-53422-2025 was treated as the lead case.
Both petitions sought regular bail in a complaint instituted under Section 132(1)(a & l) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, read with the corresponding provisions of the Punjab State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, punishable under Section 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act. The complaint, filed by the Union of India through the Superintendent (Anti-Evasion), CGST Commissionerate, Ludhiana, is pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ludhiana. The petitioners were arrested on 30 July 2025, and their applications for regular bail had been dismissed by the court below.
The respondent alleged that the petitioners and other co-accused had entered into agreements with overseas entities for handling overseas shooting and delivery of raw albums to India. Funds amounting to Rs.42.76 crores and Rs.299.51 crores were transferred by entities owned by the petitioners to overseas entities. The respondent contended that such transactions amounted to import of services under Section 2(11) of the IGST Act and were treated as inter-State supply under Section 7(4) of the IGST Act, thereby attracting IGST liability under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM). It was alleged that IGST on services worth Rs.299.51 crores was not paid, resulting in evasion of Rs.53.91 crores, exceeding the threshold of Rs.5 crores under Section 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act. Specifically, one petitioner was alleged to have evaded Rs.7.69 crores and the other Rs.53.91 crores. The offences were stated to be cognizable and non-bailable, punishable up to five years with fine. The respondent further argued that investigation was still ongoing and supplementary reports could be filed.
