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TMI Blog2024 (9) TMI 1289X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder Section 2(h) Cr.P.C. as all the proceedings for collection of evidence conducted by a police officer - Trial has not been defined under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Lexicologically, trial means a judicial examination of a case in accordance with law. Hence, for an inquiry or trial, it is the court which is the focal point, whereas for an investigation, it is the police officer. Thus, in the present case, the arguments as placed by learned counsel for the applicants, on the point of jurisdiction, have no legs to stand. Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with the relevancy of information received from a person accused of any offence while in the custody of the police officer. The Section provides an exception to the general rule that confessions made to the police officers are inadmissible in evidence. From the aforesaid, the scope of Section 27 of the Act, 1872 is that it applies to any information given by the person accused of an offence, which leads to the discovery of a fact - The condition for applicability of the aforesaid Section is that the person giving the information must be an accused in police custody. The information provided must lead dire ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... framed, hence, interfering in judicial process, thus, giving ample reason of not enlarging them on bail. As assisted by the State that backbone of Goods Services Tax regime and Input Tax Credit, is that under the GST Regime ITC follows supply chain not only in intra-state but also interstate supply. Thus, on the ground of jurisdiction as argued by learned counsel for the applicant this Court is of the view that though registration of fake firms were at Punjab and Maharasthra, the complainant is resident of New Delhi and the FIR has been lodged at Gautam Buddh Nagar, the genuineness of complaint questioning the territorial jurisdiction cannot be raised on the basis of occurrence as the same cannot be said to be at one place where the GST firm was registered but its connections with other fake firms are also required to be seen. This is not a fit case for granting bail - bail applications are rejected. - With Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 56396/2023, 8136/2024, 55161/2023, 55235/2023, 55245/2023, 6728/2024, 8746/2024, 9061/2024, 10526/2024, 10527/2024, 10528/2024, 6882/2024, 5007/2024, 50753/2023, 10603/2024, 8643/2024, 11406/2024, 11452/2024, 11581/2024, 50337/2023, 2994/20 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 2. 52966/2023 Rajiv Jindal 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 3. 53475/2023 Rajiv Jindal 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 4. 55125/2023 Manan Singhal 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 5. 55131/2023 Manan Singhal 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 6. 51907/2023 Mahesh 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 7. 51920/2023 Mahesh 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 8. 52254/2023 Mahesh 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 9. 53246/2023 Nand Kishore 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 10. 50362/2023 Nand Kishore 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 11. 50510/2023 Nand Kishore 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 12. 55268/2023 Manan Singhal 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 13. 55161/2023 Sumit Garg @ Chacha 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Budd ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 38. 53087/2023 Ashwani 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 39. 53088/2023 Ashwani 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 40. 18705/2024 Atul Gupta 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 41. 12687/2024 Pritam Garg @ Chacha 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 42. 13150/2024 Pritam Garg @ Chacha 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 43. 13386/2024 Pritam Garg @ Chacha 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 44. 16146/2024 Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 45. 16288/2024 Gaurav Singh @ Gaurav Singhal 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 46. 16413/2024 Atul Gupta 248/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 47. 16981/2024 Amit @ Moti @ Motu 255/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 48. 16999/2024 Amit @ Moti @ Motu 203/2023 420, 467, 468, 471 120B IPC Noida Sector-20 Gataum Buddh Nagar 49. 17749/2024 Rakes ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gement number generated after filing of GST registration application is AA070323054161Q. Hence, the FIR has been lodged. 4. As per prosecution version in FIR/Case Crime No. 248/2023, dated 01.06.2023 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC, Police Station Noida Sector-20, Gataum Buddh Nagar, the informant Sumit Yadav came to know about registration of fake firm, Yadav Traders, against his PAN Card No. AHFPX9874Q and the address is recorded as Ground Floor JL No. 219 Khatian No. 2275 dag no. 1835, Sahibganj Road, near Sahibganj, High School, Kharimala, Khagrabari Cooch behar West Bengal 736101. Said Firm is got registered fallaciously against informant s PAN Card AHFPX9874Q. It has been registered illegally by some unknown miscreants. Informant has mentioned his permanent address as K-11 Gyan Sarowar Colony, Ramghat Road, Aligarh, and present address as J-41, Senior Citizen Society, Greater Noida. Thus, the FIR has been lodged. 5. As per prosecution version in FIR/Case Crime No. 255/2023, dated 08.06.2023 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC, Police Station Noida Sector-20, Gataum Buddh Nagar, the informant - Arvind Kumar Yadav, on being known about arrest of some persons who ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... kash Saini 12. 11581/2024 Ajay @ Mintu 13. 9061/2024 Dolsy Murjhani 14. 10528/2024 Jatin Murjani 15. 52966/2023 Rajiv Jindal 16. 51920/2023 Mahesh 17. 50510/2023 Nand Kishore 18. 26838/2024 Piyush Kumar Gupta 7. Sri Arvind Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant submits that instant bail application being Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 51920 of 2023 has been preferred by the applicant Mahesh with a prayer to release him on bail in Case Crime No. 255 of 2023, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B IPC, Police Station Noida Sector-20, District Gautam Buddh Nagar. 8. As per prosecution story the informant on being searched on internet found that three fictitious firms have been formed with his PAN and three GST Numbers have been obtained, whereas the applicant neither got any such firm opened nor obtained any GST Number, thus he prayed for legal action against the accused who have manipulated and misused his documents and lodged the first information report on 08.06.2023. 9. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. He is not named in first information report [FIR] . Placing forth the fa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ablished at the time of filing of charge-sheet. Whereas in the FIR, the addresses of all the accused given were incomplete merely mentioning the address as Sector 20, Gautam Budh Nagar , in the charge-sheet addresses of not only the appellants, namely, Rajesh Gupta and Dinesh Gupta, were found to be D-393, New Friends Colony, New Delhi, even Sushil Gupta and Baljeet Singh were also found to be residents of New Delhi. *** *** *** *** *** *** 36. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we find that the FIR in question, if proceeded further, will result in absolute abuse of process of court. It is a clear case of malicious prosecution. Hence, the same is required to be quashed. *** *** *** *** *** *** 38. Before parting with the judgment, we are reminded of the opening remarks. The respondent Karan Gambhir having misused the legal system by lodging false and frivolous complaint with nondisclosure of necessary facts must bear its costs. The registration of FIR at Noida despite having registered offices of companies in question at Delhi shows a wishful forum shopping by the Complainant, casting serious doubts on their bona fides. The Complainant had already sought remedy against amalgamati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dly arisen in the city of Ambala. 14. He further contends that no recovery has been made from the applicant s possession and the alleged recovery is fake and it does not make any case against the applicant. 15. Mr. Arvind Srivastava, learned counsel argued on behalf of the applicant Rajiv Jindal in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 53010 of 2023, 53475 of 2023, 52966 of 2023; applicant Mahesh in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 51907 of 2023, 51920 of 2023, 52254 of 2023, and applicant-Nand Kishore in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 53246 of 2023, 50362 of 2023 and 50510 of 2023. 16. Placing reliance upon a judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Haricharan Kurmi and another v. State of Bihar [AIR 1964 SC 1184 : 1964 SCC OnLine SC 28], learned counsel for the applicants has drawn attention of the Court to Paragraph-13 and argued that it has been held in the said judgement that Section 30 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 [The Act, 1872] provides that the court may take confession into consideration and thereby no doubt, makes it evidence on which the court may act; but the section does not say that the confession amounts to proof. Relevant excerpt of Paragraph-13 o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lso without jurisdiction and is in teeth of Section 177 Cr.P.C. In support of his submissions, learned counsel for the applicants has relied upon the judgements of Supreme Court in the case of Dinesh Gupta v. State of U.P. [2024 SCC OnLine SC 34], Manoj Kumar Sharma others v. State of Chhattisgarh Another [(2016) 9 SCC 1], and Y Abraham Ajith others v. Inspector of Police, Chennai another [(2004) 8 SCC 100] 19. The entire investigation started from an input by a secret informer and then on the basis of confessional statement of co-accused persons, the name of other co-accused persons came into light, thus, the implication of the applicants on the basis of confessional statements of co-accused cannot be taken as a substantial piece of evidence. In support of his submissions, learned counsel for the applicants has relied upon the judgements of Supreme Court in the cases of Haricharan Kurmi another v. State of Bihar [1964 SCC OnLine SC 28], Narcotics Control Bureau v. Pallulabid Ahmad Arimutta [(2022) 12 SCC 633], Union of India (NCB) etc. v. Khalil Uddin etc. [2022 SCC OnLine SC 2109], Bharat Chaudhary v. Union of India [(2021) 20 SCC 50], Sanjeev Chandra Agarwal v. Union of India [( ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of W.B. [(2012) 2 SCC 680 : (2012) 1 SCC (Cri) 979], and Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI [(2022) 10 SCC 51] 24. Relying upon the the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana v. Ram Singh [(2002) 2 SCC 426], learned counsel for the applicants submits that no evidence exists and no recovery against the applicant Rajiv Jindal, co-accused Mahesh and Nand Kishore, for the alleged forged GST papers and for misappropriation of any tax or use of any ITC has been collected. The recoveries shown are planted without there being any independent witness and these recoveries are held to be having no credibility and these recoveries cannot be taken as a piece of credible evidence. 25. Sri Kamal Krishna, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Prakhar Saran Srivastava, learned Advocate argued the matter on behalf of the applicant - Manan Singhal in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 55125 of 2023, 55131 of 2023, 55268 of 2023, and applicant Sumit Garg alias Chacha in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos. 55161 of 2023, 55235 of 2023, and 55245 of 2023. 26. Learned Senior Counsel submits that pursuant to the first information reports, the Investigating Officer proceeded with the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... accused persons, no specific role has been assigned to the aforesaid persons. 32. On 22.06.2023 the alleged accused Manan and Sumit along with co-accused Atul Gupta were allegedly apprehended on the road connecting DND [Delhi Noida Direct Flyway] and Greater Noida Expressway in Mahindra XUV 700 Car bearing registration no. HR21-Q-0725. Recovery of Rs. 40,500/- from the pocket of accused Sumit, iPhone 10 and Rs. 10,000/- from the pocket of applicant Manan was made. As per the confessional statement, the Car belonged to Goldy. Bills of Shri Radhey Trading Company were recovered from the back seat of the car; key of another car and few documents were recovered from the dashboard and the car key recovered belonged to Anchit s car as confessed by Manan, Sumit and Atul Gupta. Copy of recovery memo was given to only coaccused Atul Gupta. 33. On 22.06.2023 Skoda Rapid UP16-BD2278 was recovered from Sector-9, Rohini, Delhi and this car was opened with the key that was recovered from the vehicle from which Manan, Sumit and co-accused Atul Gupta were apprehended and after opening the aforesaid car, documents relating to alleged offence were found from the dashboard. 34. On 19.08.2023 and 20.0 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alleged recovery. The alleged accused Manan and Sumit cannot be said to be in conscious possession of the alleged documents recovered from two accused as they are not the owner of the car and they were only travelling in the car with the co-accused Atul Gupta. 39. The alleged documents have been recovered from the dashboard of XUV 700 and Skoda car, therefore, the same cannot be pinned upon the applicants. In support of his submissions, learned counsel has relied upon a judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Avtar Singh v. State of Punjab [(2002) 7 SCC 419]. He next submits that the present case is a case of false implication as the police is implicating the friends and family of co-accused persons. Cousin of the applicants Manan and Sumit, namely, Gaurav Singhal was initially implicated and when the applicant met the co-accused Gaurav Singhal, they were also implicated in the case and arrested on 20.06.2023. 40. Raising objections on the issue of jurisdiction, learned counsel for the applicants submits that the informant is resident of Delhi and the alleged firms were registered in other States, therefore, no jurisdiction is vested in Police Station Sector-20 Noida, Gautam ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de by police personnel. 44. The applicant Jatin Murjani is 21 years old student of B.Com. and applicant Dolsy Murjhani is an unmarried 23 years old girl. They have been falsely implicated being the son and daughter of co-accused Deepak Murjhani. On 01.06.2023 first statement of accused Yaseen Sheikh and Deepak Murjhani were recorded along with others and none of them stated that the applicants were involved in the controversy in any manner. After a lapse of 4 days i.e. on 05.06.2023 second statement of Deepak Murjhani and Yaseen Sheikh were recorded by the Investigating Officer and the earlier statements were reiterated. Deepak Murjhani has categorically stated that he has kept the alleged laptop and mobile hidden from his children, thus, Jatin Murjani and Dolsy Murjhani had no knowledge about the said laptop and mobile. 45. On 08.06.2023 statements of Deepak Murjhani and Yaseen Sheikh were recorded. They for the first time introduced the names of Jatin Murjani and Dolsy Murjhani. In their statements, no specific role has been assigned to the applicants. 46. In the investigation of Case Crime No. 255 of 2023, statements of Deepak Murjani were recorded and for the first time he disc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... heir possession has been transcribed in the case diary, from where it transpires that the accused Yaseen and Ashwani Pandey were taken to their office situated at Madhu Vihar, New Delhi. 53. While, the police raided the office at Madhu Vihar, New Delhi, it found 6 other accused persons, namely, Deepak Mujhani, Vineeta W/o Deepak Murjhani, Vishal Singh, Rajeev, Akash Saini and Atul Sengar. Yaseen confessed before the Investigating Officer that they worked for Deepak Mujhani and their office is at Madhu Vihar, New Delhi. A total of Rs. 12,66,000/-, 4 laptops, 30 mobile phones, 50 PAN Cards and Aadhaar Cards, 60 SIM Cards of different companies and 3 Cars were recovered. 54. The Investigating Officer has recorded in Parcha No. 7, dated 01.06.2023, that upon enquiry it was found that the office belongs to Deepak Murjhani, and his wife Vineeta, Vishal Singh, Akash Saini, Atul Sengar and Rajeev were found working in the office of Deepak Murjhani and the aforesaid persons were arrested. Laptop of accused Yaseen is said to have contained excel sheets where details of approximately 2571 Firms, having different GST Numbers, had been mentioned, and it was informed by the co-accused Yaseen tha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... independent witness to the alleged recovery shown from the applicant or the co-accused persons. The alleged forged invoices as recovered from the car of the applicant and another co-accused Gurmeet Singh Batra have not been connected to the offence in question. The applicant is not a beneficiary of the crime in any manner, however, solely on the basis of confessional statement of co-accused and totally false and fabricated recovery, the applicant has been implicated in the present case. 61. The prosecution claims that a total ITC of Rs. 26,45,28,96,500/- had been wrongly claimed by the accused persons, however, it has failed to connect the same to the applicant in any manner. The applicant Gaurav Singh alias Gaurav Singhal has been granted bail in another offence of GST by a Coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 29.05.2024 passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 16786 of 2024 [Gaurav Singhal v. Union of India]. The applicant has been arrayed as accused in the case at hand because he is cousin of Arjit Goyal who is mastermind of the alleged offence and was solely involved in the illegal activities. The police has arrested the applicant from Dehradun on 05.06.2023, ho ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vered money, SIM Cards, Mobile etc. At the instance of Yaseen Sheikh, police went to the office of Jiwalo Pvt. Ltd. located at Madhu Vihar, Delhi, where the police found some people working on computer and laptops, and others were sitting idle. The police arrested all accused persons from the office and the applicant-Vishal is also said to be arrested from there, and from right pocket of his pant two mobile phones (Samsung Galaxy and iPhone Pro) were recovered. From his table 3 Keypad Phones and 12 SIM Cards were recovered. The police recorded statements of Ashwani Pandey, Yaseen Sheikh, Deepak Murjhani, applicant-Vishal Singh, Akash Saini, Atul Sengar, Rajeev and Vineeta. In CD Parcha-7 dated 01.06.2023 the Investigating Officer added Section 120B IPC in Case Crime No. 203 of 2023. Learned counsel further submitted that only Yaseen Sheikh took name of the applicant in his statement and none other referred applicant's name or assigned any role to him. In the statement of Yaseen it is stated that the applicant was hired to bring material for preparing forged documents. 66. Pointing out the real story, learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant was lifted from h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he applicant, nor they assigned any role to the applicant in commission of the alleged offence. On 15.08.2023 the Investigating Officer recorded statements of witnesses of arrest and recoveries, namely, SI Satan Kumar, SI Mukul Yadav, SI Birbhadra Singh, HC Sunil Kumar, C Ashish Kumar, WC Shailesh Kuntal, HC Vinod Kumar, Kailash Nath, Satish Kumar, Jitendra Singh, Rohit Sahrawat, Mukesh Rathor, Ram Niwas Singh, Deena Nath Yadav, Amit Balyan, Rajesh Babu, Anand, Manish Badhana, Ranjeet Kumar, Saurabh Chauhan, Jitendra Singh, Vishwesh, Vipin, Amit Kumar, Priyansh, Idrish, Akhil Kumar, Shilpa Chikara and Kavita. All the said witnesses are police personnel and there is no independent witness to support the arrest or recovery. 70. On 19.08.2023 statements of the victim/ witnesses, namely, Amit Kumar, Amit Agrawal, Vivek Garg, Sumit Anand, Anup Kumar Singh, Saurabh Kumar, Vivek Kumar, Sumit Gautam, Amit Kumar Chaturvedi, Amit Chauhan and Vivek Sharma were recorded. None of them named the applicant nor assigned any role to him. On 20.08.2023, 21.08.2023 and 22.08.2023 statements of victim/ witnesses were recorded. None of them named the applicant nor assigned any role to him. On 26.08.202 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat the accused Yaseen has passed some documents and money to the applicant Ashwani, however, nothing incriminating was recovered from their possession. Recoveries from the office of Jiwalo Pvt. Ltd., Delhi were made. From the possession, recovery of Ashwani Rs. 10,000/-, 5 SIM Cards of different mobile companies, 1 Aadhaar Card, PAN Card and one mobile phone was made. 77. The applicant - Ashwani has confessed his guilt. He stated that he is employee of HDFC Bank and was engaged in opening of bank accounts. He had opened three fake bank accounts in the name of Rajneesh Jha, Jhameli Chaupal, Jiwalo Pvt. Ltd. and Vivek Kumar Jha. He also confessed that he had provided the documents of the said bank accounts to Yaseen Sheikh and had received Rs. 10,000/- for each forged bank account. He further disclosed that the said bank accounts were used by Yaseen to get GST registration numbers from GST Department. The police team further recovered 1 Aadhaar Card, Pan Card, Rs. 10,000/- which were handed over to Yaseen and by using the same he got OTP to open the bank accounts. No fard recovery has been made. 78. The investigation is silent as to which firms are connected with the Bank Accounts. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... covery of fake tax invoice, 3 mobile phones, Aadhaar Card and ID card was also shown. No other substantive recovery has been shown, thus it is clear that no recovery of any item which coincides with the allegations of the informant or the case of the prosecution and investigating agency can be made out. 83. Learned counsel for the applicants further submits that from a perusal of the FIRs, it is transpires that firstly there is no disclosure by the informant as to how he has come to know about the fact that his PAN Card and Aadhaar Card are linked with a fake firm. 84. The informant has nowhere disclosed about any offence or any loss incurred by him during the alleged commission of offence. From a perusal of entire case diary, no offence can be made, which has been alleged by the informant in regard to commission of any offence whereby recovery of GST from the Government Portal is being made. The allegation about fake IDs and fake accounts being created by the alleged accused is totally on the basis of statements made by other accused persons. No linking material to connect the same has been collected by the Investigating Officer. The applicants have been entangled into this case w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e). In the present matter anticipatory bail application was filed and after due consideration the Court has rejected the anticipatory bail of the applicant. 91. In response to the submissions advanced by learned counsel for Dolsy Murjhani that SIM numbers which have been recovered at the relevant point of time do not match, learned counsel for the State submits that there are two statements on the record and Dolsy Murjhani in her confessional statement specifically stated that she was helping her father and is involved in the offence. There are several SIM Cards that were being utilized and only one card recovered at the relevant point of time has not been matched. It is also contended that there are confessional statements of co-accused about involvement of Dolsy Murjhani and her brother Jatin Mujhani, on the basis of which recovery has been made which discourse the fact connecting them in the organized criminal offence. 92. Learned Additional Advocate General has further contended that from the material i.e. statements of Krishna Singh, Deepak Murjhani and from her (Dolsy Murjhani) own statement, it is evident that it is a case where a number of SIM Cards have been utilized, ther ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as it is there, that both firms have been registered with PAN numbers of Saurabh Dwivedi, hence submission as observed by learned counsel for the applicants has no legs to stand. 97. Learned AAG submits that the third submission of the applicants, which has been made the basis in all bail applications is with respect to the statement of co-accused, which cannot be read. Most of the judgements, placed before this Court, are with respect to cases in trial and not with respect to cases in bail, which say that at the time of consideration of bail application, it is the duty of the Court to examine all the material on record. Once it is duty of the court to examine all material, it includes the statement of co-accused too. Thus, the parameter for grant of bail is entirely different to that of the parameter taken to be considered under trial. He has relied upon judgements of the Apex Court in the cases of Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and another [(2004) 7 SCC 528], Masroor v. State of Uttar Pradesh and another [(2009) 14 SCC 286], State of U.P. Through CBI v. Amarmani Tripathi [(2005) 8 SCC 21], Mehboob Ali and another v. State of Rajasthan [(2016) 14 SCC 640] ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ized at the time when she was intercepted, just because one SIM recovered at that point of time, was not being utilized, cannot go to prove her innocence. 102. Mr. Manish Goel next submits that the GST Act does not impliedly or explicitly repeal the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, hence investigation for offences under the IPC is permissible. In support of his submission, he has relied upon the judgements of the Apex Court in the cases of Shahzad Alam v. State of U.P. [2020 SCC OnLine All 1901 : (2020) 35 GSTL 529], and Govind Agarwal v. State of U.P. [2020 SCC OnLine All 1902 : (2020) 35 GSTL 551] 103. Likewise with respect to economic offences, there are several decisions of the Supreme Court, wherein the Apex Court has held that the statement of co-accused as well as confessional statements are required to be considered while considering bail application of an accused. Learned counsel for the State Mr. Goel further emphasized that in view of the law laid down by the Apex Court, entire material as come in the case diary alongwith other material has to be looked into while considering bail application, thus, it is imperative to t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onsiders its existence so probable that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that it exists. 107. He has also placed Section-4 of the Act, 1872 wherein the words may presume , shall presume and conclusive proof have been explained which are as follows: 4. May presume . Whenever it is provided by this Act that the Court may presume a fact, it may either regard such fact as proved, unless and until it is disproved, or may call for proof of it. Shall presume . Whenever it is directed by this Act that the Court shall presume a fact, it shall regard such fact as proved, unless and until it is disproved. Conclusive proof . When one fact is declared by this Act to be conclusive proof of another, the Court shall, on proof of the one fact, regard the other as proved, and shall not allow evidence to be given for the purpose of disproving it. 108. From a reading of the aforesaid sections, it is clear that the material collected by the Investigating Officer at this stage is relevant for the purposes of considering that the applicants are involved in the commission of offence as the deposition made by co-accused persons leading to disc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aforesaid accused persons including accused Ashwani Pandey, Vishal and Akash, all of them disclosed the complicity of Rajiv Maheshwari, Rahul Gupta, Gaurav Singhal and Gurmeet Singh Batra alias Sahil and confessed that they use to generate fake GST bills/ invoices in the names of registered fake firms on the basis of fake SIM and IDs. (vi) C.D. Parcha No. 15 shows that at the instance and pointing out of Deepak Murjhani, Ashwani Pandey and Yaseen Sheikh, arrested of Gaurav Singhal and Gurmeet Singh Batra was effected on 10.06.2023 from the residence of Gaurav, i.e., House No. 2/214, Sector-16, Rohini, Delhi, along with huge recovery of incriminating articles. Whereafter, the investigating team reached at Gautam Buddh Nagar along with accused taken in police custody remand alongwith arrested accused persons Gurmeet Singh Batra and Gaurav Singhal, from where accused Rahul Gupta and Rajiv Maheshwari were arrested with several SIMs and other incriminating material and the recovery memo was handed over with consent to Rajiv. (vii) C.D. Parcha No. 16 shows that the accused taken in police custody remain disclosed the names of Atul Gupta, Sumit Garg alias Sumit Chacha, Mannan Singhal, Bal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ession of accused Yaseen Sheikh on 01.06.2023 as mobile set Nokia 1423. CDR and CAF reports are enclosed in the parcha, making evident the complicity of accused Yaseen along with all other accused persons. (xii) Parcha No. 25 shows (11.07.2023) the Investigating Officer found that fake GST firm - Tam Traders mentioned in the FIR does not exist at given address of Maharashtra and the documents shown were found to be forged. (xiii) Parcha No. 29 shows (07.07.2023) the details of persons in whose names SIM Cards were procured, have been recovered from the accused Yaseen and Deepak Murjhani. (xiv) Arrest of accused Ajay alias Minti, Amit alias Montu and Mahesh was made, which is mentioned in C.D. Parcha No. 30 (09.07.2023). Recovery of 07 mobile phones, 06 tax invoices, one car and 3 aadhaar cards was made from said accused persons. (xv) In the C.D. Parcha No. 31 the Investigating Officer found that the registration of vehicle mentioned in the invoices were found to be fake and fabricated. (xvi) In the C.D. Parcha No. 37 arrest of Preetam Garg alias Chacha is mentioned along with recovery of fake tax invoices, mobile, aadhaar and voter ID. In his statement, the accused Preetam Garg con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n ITC of Rupees Four Thousand Crore, in respect to the same different Zonal Units have arrested accused, namely, Tushar Gupta, Sanjay Dhingra, Rishabh Jain, Shubham Jindal, Tarun Jindal, A. Suresh Kumar, Sanjay Jindl and Ajay Sharma. (xxv) In C.D. Parcha No. 75 the Investigating Officer has requested DGGI, Meerut Unit, Ghaziabad to provide entire details along with charge sheet with regard to Sanjay Dhingra, controller of M/s Good Health Industries. (xxvi) In C.D. Parcha No. 76, a report from DGGI, Meerut Unit was received along with charge sheet filed against Sanjay Dhingra, which reveals that Inspector, DGGI Office, Ghaziabad has informed that accused persons were arrested by the police of P.S. Sector-20 Noida, Gautam Budh Nagar and from their possession list of 2600 fake GST registration firms was recovered. On thorough inquiry it was found that the forged GST firms YOYO Traders has transferred ITC to fake GST firm AKS Traders, from which it was transferred to M/s Good Health Industries Pvt. Ltd., and both YOYO Traders and AKS Traders were found to be registered on fake documents. A complete report of DGGI office containing 28 pages is enclosed along with the parcha. In the said ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e fake invoices GST Department has initiated proceedings against the accused, in which penalty of Rs. 12 lacs was recovered from the company. (xxxiii) C.D. Parcha No. 85 shows that IMEI of the mobile phones recovered from the accused persons was got run on surveillance of concerned service providers, from where it was found that those IMEI numbers were used in 83 mobile number/ SIMs. (xxxiv) C.D. Parcha No. 98 refers about the report of one of the DGGI Zonal Units i.e. DGGI Gurugram Zonal Unit. It reveals that from the list of about 2600 fake GST firms which was recovered from the accused persons, out of these 20 companies were found to be common, by which fake ITC claims were received. Further, Annexue-1 of the said report reveals that from these 20 firms, by way of fake tax invoices about Rs. 16,91,74,236/- was misappropriated as a tax claim as such huge loss to the State Exchequer was caused. From Annexure No. 2 it is revealed that fake ITC claims of Rs. 8,57,60,146/- were fraudulently claimed from the fake GST firms. Further, Annexure-3 discloses that fake ITC of Rs. 226.45 crores were claimed in collusion with the accused Sanjay Jindal and Ajay Sharma. The report of DGGI is en ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ustody as such vide judicial permission the statement of accused Kunal Mehta alias Goldi was recorded in jail, wherein he stated to effect the recovery of forged documents from the office of Balli situated in Rohini, Delhi. (xl) C.D. Parcha No. 128 (15.03.2024) indicates the recovery of documents relating to fake GST firm from accused Kunal Mehta alias Goldi. (xli) C.D. Parcha No. 131 (21.03.2024) shows that during investigation it was found that accused Ajay Sharma and Sanjay Jindal, who were arrested by DGGI, Gurugram Unit amongst 8 other persons and also involved in the registration of 2600 fake GST firms, whose information was provided to the police by DGGI Ghaziabad Unit, are in jail, as such the statement of the accused persons were recorded wherein they have confessed their complicity in the present offence and requested the court below for allowing the remand of the accused in the present case crime under Section 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B IPC. (xlii) In C.D. Parcha No. 135, a letter from DGGI Delhi Unit is submitted by the IO which reveals that the accused Tushar Mehta who was arrested by DGGI Delhi Unit, was involved in recipient of fraudulent ITC to the tune of Rs. 24 cror ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... In their confessional statement, said accused stated that they along with Deepak Murjhani, Yaseen, Anchit and Arjit and others have created these forged and fabricated GST firms. In the same parcha, it has been mentioned that accused Shubham Jindal was also arrested from Rajasthan by another team on 18.05.2024, from whose possession 3 mobile phone, 2 laptops and a list of fake GST firms were recovered. It is mentioned that copy of recovery memo was given to accused persons. (xlviii) C.D. Parcha No. 161 (25.05.2024) shows that confessional statements of accused Anshul Goyal were recorded, wherein he has stated the complicity of the accused persons naming them. (xlix) C.D. Parcha No. 162 (26.05.2024) reveals that a report from DGGI, Coimbatore which reveals that names of Smt. Suganya Prabhu and Sri Prabhuparam Shivam came to the light in the complicity of offence, showing huge amount was misappropriated through ITC. (l) C.D. Parcha No.167 (23.06.2024) details about the arrest of Smt. Suganya Prabhu, her confessional statement was recorded which discloses the complicity in the present case. (li) C.D. Parcha No.172 (27.06.2024) shows the arrest of accused Babar Khan and recovery of for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9.09.2023 53. Dilip Sharma 203/2023 04.03.2024 54. Piyush Kumar Gupta 255/2023 04.03.2024 55. Piyush Kumar Gupta 248/2023 04.03.2024 111. While assisting the Court, Mr. Rishi Kumar, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel submits that the present case begins with lodging of FIR by Saurabh Dwivedi, wherein allegations for fake GST registration applied in his name with PAN No. AUSPD7067N by anonymous person and got two GST firms registered, thus, the entire case begins with fake GST registration using PAN Card and Aadhaar Card of the informant. During the investigation it was found that larger nexus works for having benefit of input tax credit. The offence has been committed in an organized and synchronized manner, wherein fake and bogus invoices have been created to cover the money trail and goods supply as well as money transactions are there with forged firms. Establishing the entire chain, the accused persons have been found connected with each other and in one or the other way they have been benefited by fake GST registration shown by using Pan Card and Aadhaar Card of the informant. 112. The backbone of goods and services regime is input tax and credit. Under the GST regime, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rld and Ors. [By Bombay High Court in Interim Application (L) No. 564 of 2024 in Commercial Intellectual Property Rights Suit (L) No. 537 of 2024], wherein the Court has observed thus: It cannot be in dispute that the PAN system is of paramount importance on a national scale due to its multifaceted impact on governance, taxation, and financial integrity, and it can be said to be the cornerstone of a robust financial economic system. PAN related services are pivotal in fostering fiscal discipline and ensuring a transparent and accountable economic framework, as apart from being a unique identifier for individuals and entitles, it also aim at streamlining the tax recovery and payment process. Government of India has made it mandatory for PAN card holders to link the same to Aadhar Card, which is an acceptable proof of identification in India, and therefore, any potential misuse of the licence/ authorisation to issue PAN cards, would be highly detrimental not only to the interest. 116. Thus, the offence in the present case is affecting the interest of public at large. 117. I have considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 118. Learne ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n Evidence Act, however, Section 27 allows for an exception where information received from the accused leads to discovery of a fact. The Section makes only that part of the statement relevant, which directly leads to the discovery of facts. It does not make the entire statement of the accused inadmissible. 123. The condition for applicability of the aforesaid Section is that the person giving the information must be an accused in police custody. The information provided must lead directly to the discovery of the material fact and only that portion of information which directly leads to the discovery is admissible. For example, if an accused, while in custody, reveals the location of a weapon used in the crime and upon searching that location, the weapon is indeed found, the part of statement where accused described the location of weapon is admissible in courts as evidence. 124. The rationale behind Section 27 of the Act, 1872 is to strike a balance between protection of the accused from coercive confession and the necessity of law enforcement to discover fact related to a crime. The courts have interpreted Section 27 in various judgements, often emphasizing that it should be appl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... until proven guilty. This principal emphasizes that an accused should ordinarily be granted bail unless there are compelling reasons to detain him in custody. But there are exceptions to the aforesaid principal. While, the general rule favours granting bail, there are several exceptions where courts may deny bail due to specific circumstances. These exceptions are based on factors that indicate a potential risk to society, the judicial process, or the investigation. Some points that should be kept in mind while granting bail are; the nature and gravity of the offence, likelihood of flight risk, risk of tampering with the evidence of witnesses, repeated offenders or habitual criminals, danger to society or the victim, possibility of committing another offence while on bail, interference with justice, specific statutory provisions like the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), lastly economic offence and white collar crimes. 128. The present case relates to economic offences, such as large scale fraud, money laundering and corruption, are often viewed seriously becaus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country. 35. While granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considerations. 132. The Apex Court in the case of Nimmagadda Prasad v. Central Bureau of Investigation, (2013) 7 SCC 466 has formulated some important factors to be taken into consideration while considering bail applications. Relevant paragraph of the said judgement are quoted herein below: 24. While granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... investigated by the Investigating Officer after lodging of FIRs. The evidences have been collected from the GST Department also. 137. In the case of Perumal Raja @ Perumal v. State, Rep. By Inspector of Police [2024 LiveLaw (SC) 8], the Court has gone to the extent of clarifying phrase discovery of a fact by saying that the same includes the object found, the place from which it was produced and the knowledge of the accused as to its existence, therefore, factum of discovery combines both the physical object as well as mental consciousness of the informant accused in relation thereto. The same has been stated in Paragraph Nos. 22 23 of the said judgement, which are thus: 22. However, we must clarify that Section 27 of the Evidence Act, as held in these judgments, does not lay down the principle that discovery of a fact is to be equated to the object produced or found. The discovery of the fact resulting in recovery of a physical object exhibits knowledge or mental awareness of the person accused of the offence as to the existence of the physical object at the particular place. Accordingly, discovery of a fact includes the object found, the place from which it was produced and the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... should be bestowed on these two factors apart from others. There cannot be an inexorable formula in the matter of granting bail. The facts and circumstances of each case will govern the exercise of judicial discretion in granting or cancelling bail. 139. The Apex Court in the case of Prahlad Singh Bhati v. NCT, Delhi and another [(2001) 4 SCC 280], has held that while granting bail, the court has to keep in mind nature of accusations, nature of evidence in support thereof, severity of punishment which conviction will entail, the character, behaviour, means and standing of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, larger interest of the public or State and similar other considerations. Relevant paragraph no. 8 of the said judgement is reproduced hereunder: 8. The jurisdiction to grant bail has to be exercised on the basis of well-settled principles having regard to the circumstances of each case and not in an arbitrary manner. While granting the bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evide ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ovind Upadhyay v. Sudarshan Singh [(2002) 3 SCC 598 : 2002 SCC (Cri) 688] and Puran v. Rambilas [(2001) 6 SCC 338 : 2001 SCC (Cri) 1124].) . 141. In the case of State of U.P. Through CBI v. Amarmani Tripathi [(2005) 8 SCC 21], the Supreme Court has formulated eight points for consideration of bail application. It would be apposite to quote the relevant paragraph no. 18 of the said judgement: 18. It is well settled that the matters to be considered in an application for bail are (i) whether there is any prima facie or reasonable ground to believe that the accused had committed the offence; (ii) nature and gravity of the charge; (iii) severity of the punishment in the event of conviction; (iv) danger of the accused absconding or fleeing, if released on bail; (v) character, behaviour, means, position and standing of the accused; (vi) likelihood of the offence being repeated; (vii) reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with; and (viii) danger, of course, of justice being thwarted by grant of bail. ... 142. The Apex Court has, in the case of P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement [(2020) 13 SCC 791 : (2020) 4 SCC (Cri) 646], held that precedent of another case al ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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