The Rajasthan High Court has granted bail to Gopal Rawat, accused of masterminding a massive fake invoicing racket involving input tax credit (ITC) fraud to the tune of Rs. 7.19 crore. The case has shaken the Jaipur business ecosystem and stirred debate over white-collar crime and tax evasion.
The bench of Justice Pramil Kumar Mathur weighed the arguments and leaned on the precedent set in the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ratnambar Kaushik vs Union of India, which established that prolonged pre-trial custody in economic offences—especially when trial evidence is mostly documentary or electronic—may not be justified.
The applicant, Gopal Rawat, owner of M/s VLR Corporation, was accused by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) of issuing goods-less invoices from April 2018 to March 2025 across 48 beneficiary firms, enabling fraudulent ITC claims. The scale and duration of the scam raised alarms within the GST enforcement circle, with Rawat being arrested and held in Central Jail, Jaipur since May 2, 2025.
According to DGGI, the invoices were mere paper transactions with no actual supply of goods—effectively siphoning off public revenue by abusing the GST system.
The applicant argued that the offence is bailable and compoundable under GST law for amounts up to ₹5 crore and that Rs. 1.37 crore had already been deposited by the petitioner. The counsel also emphasized Rawat’s clean criminal record and the fact that the trial may take considerable time.
The Department, however, opposed bail, calling the case a serious economic offence, citing past judgments that advocate a stringent approach to such crimes that threaten the economic fabric of the nation.
Citing the absence of criminal antecedents, the partial recovery of the fraud amount, and the case being triable by a Judicial Magistrate, the Court granted Rawat conditional bail. He must furnish a Rs. 1 lakh personal bond and two sureties of ₹50,000 each. Additionally, Rawat is required to surrender his passport and is barred from traveling abroad without court approval.
Case Details
Case Title: Gopal Rawat Versus UOI
Case No.: S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 7476/2025
Date: 29/07/2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Pankaj Gupta with Mr. Naman Yadav
Counsel For Respondent: C.S. Sinha, Standing Counsel for DGGI with Mr. Dev Yadav
