1. Challenging the summons issued by the Superintendent (Anti Evasion) of the Hyderabad GST Commissionerate, under Section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short ‘CGST Act’) and the invocation of the penal provisions under Section 69 of the Act, the Directors (Past and/or present) of a few Private Limited Companies, a Chief Financial Officer of a company and the Partner of a Partnership Firm have come up with the above writ petitions.

2. We have heard Mr. R. Raghunandan Rao and Mr. T. Niranjan Reddy, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners and Mr. K.M. Nataraj, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the Union of India.

Facts in brief

3. Since the facts out of which these writ petitions arise, differ marginally from each other, we shall bring out the facts of each case separately:

(i) Brief facts in WP No. 4764 of 2019:

The petitioner in this writ petition is the Managing Director of a Company, by name, Infinity Metals Products India Limited, engaged in the manufacture of iron and steel products. The Company is a listed company. A search was conducted in the premises of the Company by the officials of the GST Commissionerate