Follow our order when arresting GST evaders: SC to HC's

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the high courts across the country to keep in mind in dealing with pleas of anticipatory bail in cases of GST evasion that it had already upheld a Telangana High Court's order which declared as legal the power of arrest by the competent authority under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose, however, said the matter would be examined by a three-judge bench since it was necessary to clarify the position.

“As different high courts of the country have taken divergent views in the matter, we are of the view that the position in law should be clarified by this court,” the bench said.

The court issued notices to Sapna Jain and others on a petition filed by the Centre, while declining to interfere with the pre-arrest granted by the Bombay High Court.

The court passed its order as the Union government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pointed out different orders have been passed by different high courts and granted anticipatory bail to the accused on their plea questioning the power of arrest under the law.

The court, however, agreed to examine in detail the petition filed by the Union government, challenging the validity of the such orders by the high courts.

It had on May 27 dismissed a petition challenging the Telangana High Court verdict which declared that a person can be arrested by the authority concerned in cases of GST evasion.

The high court had on April 18 said it was not inclined to grant relief against arrest to petitioners who had approached it challenging the summons issued by Superintendent (Anti-Evasion) of the Hyderabad GST Commissionerate under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and invocation of penal provisions under the law.

The high court's order had come on a batch of petitions filed by some private companies, its top officials and others.