JUDGMENT :

1. The applicant, presently in custody, has filed regular bail application under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C., in connection with File No. DCST/ENF08/SURAT/AC- 1/HASAN KALLIWALA/58-21-22, for the offences under punishable under Sections 132(1)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as 'CGST Act') and Section 132(1)(b) of the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (herein after referred to as 'the GST Act'.).

2. The applicant is arrested on 17.04.2022. He moved an application for regular bail before the Metropolitan Magistrate, Ahmedabad and City Sessions Court at Ahmedabad, which came to be rejected by the courts below.

3. Brief facts leading to file present application is that, it came to be the notice of the department that present applicant and others were indulged into activities of creating fictitious entity to pass ineligible input tax credit. It is in this matter, the search proceedings against HK Metal and Blue Star Trading Company were conducted at their registered places of business. Both the firms are proprietorship concern, doing scarp business at Bhavnagar and are registered in the name of Kalawala Haji and Mrs. Sabana Aslam, who are father and mother of the applicant respectively and according to record, the applicant is the authorized representative of both the firms and managing its bank transactions. During the search proceedings, both the firms were not operative and not in existence at the business place and one new firm M/s. Ashiya Enterprise was found. The findings of the investigation, emerged that these firms doing wrongful activity of issuing fake invoices, to pass ineligible input tax credit to beneficiaries without any actual movement of goods, whereby, the applicant caused revenue loss to the government exchequer to the tune of Rs.21.59 crores, as by passing the illegal ITC, the beneficiary firms had claimed unlawful input tax credit. In such circumstances, the applicant has violated the provisions of GST, GGST and IGST and rules made thereunder and thereby evaded tax of Rs.21.59 crores. The proprietor of these firms were served summons under Section 70 of the Act and they were arrested after due process of law. The applicant herein was evaded the investigating proceedings since long and lastly, he was apprehended on 17.04.2022. He was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Ahmedabad and was granted custodial interrogation for 4 days. During the pendency of the petition, the complaint as contemplated under CGST Act, is filed before the court concerned, which came to be registered as CC No. 57059 of 2022.

4. This Court has heard learned Senior Counsel Mr. N.D. Nanavati, assisted by Mr. Chetan Pandya, learned counsel appearing for and on behalf of applicant, Mr. Manan Mehta, learned APP for the respondents.

5. Mr. N.D. Nanavati, learned Senior Counsel urged that:

i) During the interrogation of the Proprietors of 2 firms who are happened to be a parents of the applicant, the respondent agency has recovered the necessary documentary evidence and same is in the custody of the department. Even after the arrest of the applicant, during remand period, he was extensively interrogated by the department and necessary documents have been recovered. It is in this context, learned counsel submitted that now further custody of the applicant is not necessary, as after investigation, complaint is filed before the court concerned and in near future, there is no possibility to conclude trial in a reasonable time so keeping behind the bar the applicant, would not serve any purpose.

ii) Learned counsel on instructions, states that the applicant is ready and willing to deposit Rs. 2 crore within 2 months from his release before the department without prejudice to his rights and contentions;

iii) On factual aspect, learned senior counsel submitted that both the firms