Section 132 of the CGST Act, 2017—Bail – The petitioner sought bail for the offences punishable under Section 132(1) (a), (h), (k) and (l) of the Act. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner cannot be said to have evaded the duty of Rs.15 Crores, as the petitioner is neither a manufacturer nor he has been shown as a manufacturer in the remand application. The maximum punishment provided for the offence is five years of imprisonment. The petitioner is behind the bars since 21.07.2022, after investigation, the complaint has already been filed and the trial of the case will take a long time. The court observed that the allegation against the petitioner pertains to an amount of Rs.15,57,28,345/- and custody period is about three months. Looking to the facts, circumstances, nature and gravity of the offence, this Court deemed it not proper to enlarge the petitioner on bail.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court dismissed the bail application.