Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017 — Freezing of Bank Account – The applicant challenged the order dated 04.06.2022, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, whereby he rejected the revision application in respect of de-freezing the account of the company. The Learned Magistrate rejected the application mainly on the ground that at that point of time the investigation was at preliminary stage and took into consideration the serious nature of the offences. The Learned Additional Sessions Judge, rejected the revision application on the ground that the petitioner-company could have applied for de-freezing of the account in an appeal filed before the GST Appellate Authority. The court observed that the application filed for de-freezing the account was not opposed at any time by the prosecution on this ground. Similarly, the application was not rejected by the Magistrate on this ground. Therefore, the order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, suffers from non application of the provisions of law and ultimately the non-application of mind to the issue involved in the matter.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court set aside the order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge and remitted the matter to the learned Additional Sessions Judge by restoring the revision application for the purpose of deciding it afresh, in accordance with law, within a month.