₹900 crore GST billing scam accused has undergone almost 50% of his sentence: Supreme Court grants bail

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Paresh Chauhan, accused in a ₹900 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) billing scam, after noting that he had undergone almost half of his sentence [Paresh Nathalal Chauhan v. The State Of Gujarat and Another].."We are of the view that the appellant cannot be indefinitely detained in custody more so having already undergone a period of 25 months of custody when he can be sent behind bars for maximum five years. It is almost 50% of the sentence. Complaint has been filed," a Division Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh held..The order was passed in Chauhan's appeal against the Gujarat High Court's refusal to grant him bail.Before the apex court, counsel for Chauhan emphasised on the fact that the proceedings against his client were preceded by a search operation where the officers concerned occupied a house for more than a week with lady members there.It was submitted that the officers wanted him behind bars only to teach him a lesson for having initiated proceedings which resulted in adverse orders against them.Moreover, it was argued that Chauhan had been in custody for 25 months out of a total period of 5 years for which he can be sentenced for the offence alleged against him..On the other hand, counsel for the State argued that Chauhan should not be granted bail since he is a habitual offender, who was earlier been engaged in the violation of law.It was argued that a number of accused are absconding in relation to the scam and only on their being taken into custody would the root of the problem be detected..Expressing concern over the way the investigation was conducted and noting that the probe remains pending while Chauhan has been behind bars for over two years, Justice Kaul orally remarked,"If the investigating officers aren't able to complete the investigation within a time frame then they should not be allowed to even investigate."The Court also acknowledged that the State's stand was coloured by the proceedings initiated by Chauhan and family members against the officers which has visited them with some adverse consequences though certain proceedings are still pending qua the same.Considering the facts and submissions of the parties, the Court granted bail to Chauhan and directed him not to indulge in similar activities in the future."In matters of tax deduction, we have always seen that the State wants to put people behind bars even though they may not be at fault," Justice Kaul orally remarked while granting bail..Advocates DN Ray, Chetan Pandya, Dillip Kumar Nayak, Disha Ray and Sumita Ray appeared for Chauhan.Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and Advocates Aastha Mehta, Sairica Raju and Deepanwita Priyanka appeared for the State of Gujarat..Chauhan, an Ahmedabad businessman, was found to be operating 72 shell companies. According to the State GST department, Chauhan had created bogus bills worth ₹900 crore which were used to evade taxes to the tune of ₹100 crore. Bogus bills worth ₹427.28 crore were made under the GST regime, with which ₹60.73 crore in taxes were evaded..[Read Order]