Bail granted by court on fabrication of ₹367 crores as evidence collected is documentary: Punjab High Court.
The Punjab High Court on 16th February, 2023, in Vijay Garg v/s State of Haryana and another (CRM-M-14003-2022), passed an order of bail stating the lack of concrete evidence from the prosecution. The judgement was presided by Honourable Mr. Justice Deepak Sibal.
FACTS OF THE CASE:
The prosecution held that the petitioner managed three firms, twin under the name of M/s Shree Shyam Traders and one under the name of M/s Stasya Enterprises. Further, the prosecution contended that, the underlying motive of the petitioner for creation of the firms was to avail the input tax credit by fabricating invoices that resulted in the generation of ₹367 crores. It was also alleged that the petitioner evaded the Goods and Services Tax worth ₹26 crores.
The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that he had been falsely implicated in the case. The reason for the bail to be granted was the completion of investigation of the case and thereby the petitioner was in no position to influence the case.
JUDGEMENT:
The Court held that at the pre-charge stage, 37 prosecution witnesses were still to be examined. Hence, it would take a long time in case in the petitioner is put under examination, for the trial to be concluded. On the non availability of any serious apprehensions against the petitioner on account of fleeing or tampering with evidence by the prosecution, petition for bail holds ground. Further, the evidence submitted the prosecution was primarily documentary in nature.
Also, there was cooperation from the side of the petitioner throughout the investigation of the case. Thereby, the custody already undergone by the petitioner was of a year and 5 months. On proof of guilt, the sentence to be undergone by the petitioner would stand at maximum 5 years. The Court also upheld the long list of the prosecution witnesses, which would take a considerable amount of time for the trial to conclude.
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JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY ARYA THAKUR.