The Chhattisgarh High Court has rejected the second bail application of an accused allegedly involved in a conspiracy to extract bribes by impersonating a senior GST official.
The bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha has observed that the material on record prima facie indicated the accused’s involvement, particularly in allegedly impersonating a GST Commissioner and participating in the bribe negotiations. It also noted that this was a successive bail application and that no substantial change in circumstances had been shown since the earlier bail rejection.
The case originated from a complaint by a businessman who alleged that a GST raid was followed by a demand for illegal gratification in exchange for settling an alleged tax liability. The liability was allegedly projected at Rs. 70 lakh, out of which Rs. 11 lakh was stated to be tax dues and Rs. 34 lakh was allegedly demanded as a bribe.
The accused is alleged to have posed as a GST Commissioner under the name “Mishra” during a meeting in Raipur where the alleged bribe demand was negotiated. According to the prosecution, the impersonation was part of a planned conspiracy involving multiple individuals.
During a trap operation, a co-accused was allegedly caught accepting â‚ą5 lakh as part of the bribe. Investigators relied on CCTV footage, call records, and recorded conversations to link the accused to the conspiracy.
The defence argued that the accused was a private individual with no official role and had been falsely implicated. It contended that the case relied on electronic evidence such as voice recordings and CCTV footage that had yet to be conclusively verified. The defence also pointed out that the accused had been in custody since July 2025 and that several co-accused had already been granted bail.
Considering the seriousness of the allegations and the evidence collected during the investigation, the Court held that no case for bail was made out and rejected the application.
Case Details
Case Title: Anil Kumar Gupta Versus CBI
Citation: JURISHOUR-50-HC-2026(Chh)
Case No.: MCRC No. 1774 of 2026
Date: 19.02.2026
Counsel For Petitioner: Sunil Otwani, Senior Advocate
Counsel For Respondent: B. Gopa Kumar
