Section 132 of the CGST Act, 2017 — Bail — The applicant sought bail in respect of offence under Section 132 (1) (a) read with Section 132 (1) (i) and 132 (5) of the Act.  The Advocate for the applicant submitted that the offences alleged carry a minimum punishment of six months’ imprisonment and a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and the offence is compoundable, which indicates that the offence is not grave. The applicant has already paid a sum of Rs.54.09 Crores towards tax, interest and penalty and has undertaken to deposit the amount of any additional liability whereas the Department is yet to ascertain his tax liability. The court observed that the basic jurisprudence relating to bail in economic offences remains the same inasmuch as the grant of bail is the rule and refusal is the exception so as to ensure that the accused has the opportunity of securing fair trial. It is not advisable to categorize all the economic offences into one group and deny bail on that basis. The applicant has already paid a sum of Rs. 54.09 Crores towards tax, interest and penalty and the Department is yet to ascertain the applicant’s tax liability. The applicant has already spent more than 8 months in jail and during this period the department has not sought his custodial interrogation, which shows that his custody is not at all required. The trial is yet to commence and the applicant is not at a flight risk.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court allowed the bail application subject to certain conditions.