The Delhi High Court has rejected the bail plea of accused involved in generating fictitious GST numbers and routing client payments directly to him. The Court held that filing of fake GST returns by misusing PAN and Aadhaar credentials of innocent public persons has extremely serious consequences for the affected individuals and carries tremendous ramifications on the economy of the country.
Grant of anticipatory bail in such offences is contrary to judicially sanctified parameters and would send wrong signals to society at large, particularly where the accused is evading investigation, faces multiple financial fraud cases including one under PMLA, and custodial interrogation is required to unravel the full scope of the racket, added the Court.
Also read ‘Court Can’t be Mute Spectator’: Delhi HC Stays NEET-Super Speciality 2025 Counselling Process
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia appreciated the elaborate status report dated May 25, 2026 filed by the Investigating Officer, describing the technical investigation carried out with the use of information technology tools to zero in on the alleged fraudsters, and noted that the Customer Application Form (CAF) of one of the incriminating mobile phone numbers was also produced during arguments.
The Court observed that the evidence against the applicant was not limited to the disclosure statements of the co-accused but included strong technical evidence showing that the mobile phones used for filing fake GST returns and receiving OTPs, as well as the email IDs connected with the alleged GST returns, were in the name of the applicant. It was further noted that the applicant had been evading investigation, with proceedings under Section 84 BNSS nearing culmination to declare him a proclaimed offender, and that apart from the present case, the applicant was involved in three more cases involving financial frauds, one of which was under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Court also recorded that the investigation pertaining to the applicant was still ongoing to analyse the expanse of the fraud, and that the requirement of custodial interrogation expressed by the Investigating Officer was not unjustified.
Also read CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das Moves Delhi High Court Over Disclosure of Home Address, Private Details
Briefly, the applicant, Raj Kumar, approached the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail in an FIR registered at Police Station Cyber, Outer North District, for offences punishable under Sections 420, 419, 468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution case arose out of a complaint by a woman who, upon receiving a notice from the Income Tax Department on Apr 09, 2024, discovered that two GST firms had been fraudulently registered using her PAN Card, even though she had never applied for any GST registration.
Investigation revealed that the firms were non-existent at their declared addresses, and through technical investigation the mobile number used to receive OTPs for filing GST returns, a fake bank account linked to one of the GST numbers, and the email IDs connected with the alleged fraud were traced. One of the email IDs was found configured with a mobile phone registered in the name of the present applicant, and his email ID was also being used as a recovery email ID. Further investigation allegedly established that the applicant was involved in generating fake GST numbers of fictitious entities and providing them, along with associated mobile numbers and email IDs, to co-accused Aman Bisht, and that fake invoices and e-way bills were generated on those GST numbers and sent to clients who made payments directly to the applicant.
