Santosh Agrawal (Goyal) Vs Union of India (Chhattisgarh High Court)
The Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation under Article 226 seeking directions for investigation into alleged large-scale GST and Income Tax evasion by private parties. The Petitioner relied on documents concerning alleged scrap transactions and sought directions to the GST and Income Tax authorities to investigate, determine liabilities, recover statutory dues and monitor the proceedings.
The Respondents opposed the petition, submitting that the Petitioner had no personal or legal interest in the alleged transactions, that the matters involved disputed commercial records falling within the statutory domain of the competent authorities, and that the Petitioner had earlier filed Writ Petition (Tax) No. 56 of 2025 seeking substantially similar reliefs, which had been dismissed for want of locus standi.
The Court held that merely describing a petition as a PIL does not make it a genuine public cause. Determination of alleged tax evasion, its quantum and consequential liabilities requires examination of books of accounts, GST returns, invoices, e-way bills, agreements and other commercial records by the competent statutory authorities. The Court also noted that GST enquiries had in fact been initiated and summons issued to persons connected with the transactions.
