The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court rejected 4 petitions of 4 businessmen after observing that white-collar crimes are more serious than murder and dacoity. The businesspersons were booked for fraud of evading GST by producing fake invoices.
The Court held that the applicants delayed the proceedings due to Covid 19 and also had got interim relief as all this affects the image of the court, the applications have to pay 25,000 each to GST authorities (total 1,00,000) within four weeks as cost of the petitions and dismissed it.
The directors of M/s Ganraj Ispat Private Limited filed four pleas having registered office at Supa in Ahmednagar district sought the quashing of any illegal proceedings against them and also sought to stay on the pending hearing such that no coercive action is taken on them.
The petitioners through their Senior Counsel Makrand D Adkar and advocate P B Shirsath said that they had been informed of GST liabilities worth 84 lakh and were also charged with the commission of offences under GST law. The petitioners paid the amount to the GST intelligence as a sign of protest and they want to contest the liability put on them.
The businesspersons challenged their prosecution claiming it as a false conception. They also claimed that the CrPC guidelines were not followed for the registration of crime and investigation was not followed by the concerned authority and thus, action taken against them is illegal.
The GST department through its advocate AG Talhar said that the pleas had been misconceived, no summons had been issued against them and the department has followed every procedure as per law.
The GST authorities denied all the allegations of the petitioners and submitted that on search in the premises of the petitioner’s company they found that the petitioner had made fake invoices and thus, action against them is justified.
After hearing both sides a bench of Justice Nalawade said that there is evidence to prove that there is prima facie fraud on part of the petitioners and interim relief had been given to the petitioners on any coercive action which has been in favour of them. It had also been noted that this was done deliberately before the vacations to extend the same.
The court said that an attempt was made to say that the consultant of the company was infected with Covid 19 virus but such submissions are not accepted by the court. Disposing of the plea the bench said that white-collar crimes are more dangerous than dacoity and murder as they are hatched after planning a conspiracy. It also says that the court should keep in mind the circumstances of the case before giving anticipatory bail as it hampers the process of investigation and damages the image of the judiciary thus some costs should be put on the petitioners.
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