Section 132 of the CGST Act, 2017 — Bail — The petitioner prayed for bail for the offences punishable under section 132 of the Act. Prior to this, the Petitioners had approached the learned District and Sessions Judge for bail, which was rejected on 25.01.2021. It is alleged that the Petitioners alongwith other accused, were involved in the creation and operation of 12 fictious firms in order to avail and utilize bogus ITC of an amount of Rs. 20.45 crores. The Counsel for the Petitioners submitted that the allegations are completely false and baseless. The Petitioner No. 1 was a mere employee. Petitioner No. 2 was in no way connected to the case as he is a mere paan shop owner. The Petitioners have been duly cooperating with the authorities and have on multiple occasions appeared before them. They were forwarded into custody on 21.12.2020 and have remained in custody ever since. The court observed that both the bread earning sons of a family have been in custody for over a year now and there is no justification for detaining the Petitioners in custody for any longer.

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