Karan Kochhar Vs Inspector (Anti-Evasion) of CGST Commissionerate (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
Summary: The Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed Karan Kochhar’s first petition for regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in a complaint alleging offences under Section 132(1)(b), (c) and (i) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, read with Section 20 of the IGST Act. The CGST Commissionerate alleged that his firm, M/s Titan Steels, had fraudulently availed input tax credit of Rs.13.09 crores on fake invoices with a taxable value of Rs.72.76 crores, without actual movement of goods. These were allegations before the Court, not findings on guilt.
Kochhar said officers took him from his office on 28.04.2026 but recorded his arrest only on 29.04.2026; he challenged the communication of arrest grounds and the failure to communicate the Commissioner’s Section 69 authorisation. He maintained that purchases and supplies were backed by invoices, delivery challans and banking transactions. He also relied on nearly four months’ custody, clean antecedents, a maximum sentence of five years and the documentary nature of the evidence. The respondent disputed the alleged earlier detention, said a lawful Section 67(2) search and Section 70 statement preceded the Section 69 authorisation, asserted that grounds of arrest were served, and argued that the scale of the alleged fraud and ongoing document scanning opposed bail.
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