In a significant development in an alleged GST evasion and fraudulent input tax credit case, the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences), Meerut, has rejected the bail plea of accused Suryansh Goyal, along with co-accused Deepak Jain and Harishankar Sharma.
The court has ordered that the accused be sent to judicial custody till November 4, 2025, under provisions of Section 132(1)(b), 132(1)(c), and 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act, 2017.
The DGGI alleges that the accused floated or used multiple firms to generate fake invoices and claim ITC fraudulently. The transactions did not involve any actual movement of goods, and the input tax credit passed on was found to be fictitious.
The case was brought forward by officials from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Ghaziabad Unit. The accused are alleged to have been involved in the wrongful availing and passing of Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth approximately ₹14.17 crore, based on fake invoices and without actual supply of goods.
The Investigating Officer submitted that the accused were arrested during the investigation after evidence surfaced regarding fraudulent transactions. It was further argued that the offense was of a serious economic nature, causing substantial loss to the government exchequer.
The defense, however, moved an application for bail, stating that the accused were cooperating and that the allegations did not justify their continued custody. The defense contended that Section 132 penalties should not apply at this stage since the investigation was ongoing.
The court noted that offenses under Section 132 of the CGST Act carry punishment of up to five years imprisonment and are cognizable and non-bailable when the quantum involved exceeds prescribed limits.
The court further observed the allegations involve a serious economic offense causing significant financial loss to the state. The investigation is at a crucial stage, and granting bail may interfere with evidence collection. There is a possibility of tampering with records or influencing witnesses if bail is granted.
Given these considerations, the court ruled that there were no grounds to release the accused at this stage.
Accordingly, the court rejected the bail application and ordered the accused shall be remanded to judicial custody and lodged in Meerut Jail. They are to be produced before the court again on November 4, 2025.
