Interim bail denied to accused of input tax credit fraud of Rs 187.68 crore

Jaipur, 18 May (HS). The Rajasthan High Court refused to grant interim bail on medical grounds to an accused accused of taking advantage of input tax credit by creating a fake firm without supplying goods and committing fraud of Rs 187.68 crore. Justice Praveer Bhatnagar gave this direction while rejecting the interim bail application of accused Dheeraj Singhal.

The regular bail application of the accused is also pending in the High Court. On behalf of the accused, it was said that he has high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes and is undergoing treatment in the jail dispensary. He was also referred to SMS Hospital. His health remains poor, hence he should be given the benefit of interim bail on medical grounds. In protest against this, the GST department said that at present every 11th person has diabetes and it is not life-threatening. Nowadays, the trend of granting bail to the accused on the basis of medical grounds from the courts has also increased. There is an allegation against the accused of input tax credit fraud worth crores of rupees. He created 47 firms without supplying the goods and issued invoices to them and thereby availed the benefit of input tax credit of Rs 134.43 crore. The accused has committed a total fraud of Rs 187.68 crore and in such a situation the accused cannot be granted interim bail. The court agreed with the arguments of the department and rejected the interim bail application of the accused.