Medical Grounds Trumps Detention: Jharkhand High Court Grants Bail in ₹35 Crore GST Evasion Case.

Case Overview: Arrest and Allegations

The Investigation: The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Jamshedpur, conducted searches under Section 67(2) of the CGST Act at multiple premises related to the firm.
Evidence Recovered: Authorities seized physical and digital records allegedly detailing a large-scale tax evasion scheme amounting to approximately ₹35 crore.
Custody: The petitioner had been in custody since late 2025 following the filing of a formal prosecution complaint before the Special Judge (Economic Offenses), Jamshedpur.

Arguments for Bail

The petitioner’s counsel moved the bail application on two primary grounds:

Procedural Status: The investigation was complete, a prosecution report had been filed, and there was no further need for custodial interrogation.
Medical Necessity: Most critically, it was submitted that the petitioner is a liver transplant recipient and has been diagnosed with compression of nerve roots in the spine, for which neurosurgery was urgently advised. Medical reports from RIMS, Ranchi, indicated that specialized gastroenterology care was unavailable at the state facility.

The Decision [Section 69 read with Section 132]

The Court found the medical arguments persuasive, noting that the petitioner’s health requirements outweighed the state’s interest in continued pre-trial detention, especially since the investigation was no longer at a nascent stage.

Bail Conditions Imposed:

Bond & Sureties: Release on a bail bond of ₹1,00,000 with two sureties of the same amount.
Financial Standing: Both sureties must be Income Tax payees.
Travel Restriction: The petitioner was ordered to surrender his passport to the trial court to prevent any flight risk.

Key Takeaway

While GST offenses involving amounts exceeding ₹5 crore are non-bailable and carry stringent penalties, this judgment reaffirms that medical grounds (especially life-threatening conditions like organ transplants) remain a valid basis for judicial discretion in granting bail, provided the accused complies with strict conditions to ensure their presence during the trial.

HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND

Pramod Kumar Agarwal

Union of India^*

GAUTAM KUMAR CHOUDHARY, J.

B.A. No. 1217 of 2026
I.A. No. 2292 of 2026

FEBRUARY 17, 2026

Sumeet Gadodia, Mrs. Shilpi Sandil Gadodia, Ranjeet Khushwaha and Prakhar Harit, Advs. for the Petitioner. Parth S.A. Swaroop Pati, APP for the Respondent.

ORDER

I.A. No. 2292 of 2026

1. This interlocutory application has been filed on behalf of the petitioner wherein prayer has been made for early hearing of the instant bail application.

2. Prayer is allowed.

3. I.A. No. 2292 of 2026 is disposed of.

B.A. No. 1217 of 2026

4. Heard both the sides.

5. This bail application has been filed on behalf of Pramod Kumar Agarwal who is in custody since 24.12.2025 in connection with Complaint Case No. 4596 of 2025, arising out of File No. DGGI/INTL/1124/2025-Gr D-O-O/o ADD-DGGI-RU-JAMSHEDPUR for the offence registered under Sections 132(1)(a), 132(1)(f) and 132(1)(i) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter to be referred as ‘CGST Act, 2017’) pending in the Court of learned Special Judge, Economic Offence, Jamshedpur, is pressed into motion.

6. The petitioner is one of the partners of M/s Shubh Laxmi Traders, Daltonganj, engaged in the business of sale and purchase of iron ore and is registered under the provisions of CGST Act, 2017.

7. Gravamen of allegation against the petitioner is that he was involved in large scale evasion of GST. In pursuance of the intelligence received in this regard, a raid was conducted at multiple places of said firm on 02.12.2025 to 04.12.2025 under the provision of Section 67(2) of CGST Act, 2017. During search, incriminating physical and digital evidences were recovered disclosing tax evasion to the tune of Rs.35 Crores.

8. After investigation, prosecution report in the form of official complaint has been submitted against the petitioner under Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 read with Section 20 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

9. The prayer for bail is being made on the ground that the investigation is complete and there is no requirement of custodial interrogation. Reliance in this regard is place on Ratnambar Kaushik v. UOI [2022] /[2023] 95 GST 548/68 GSTL 233 (SC)/(2023) 2 SCC 621 wherein, the bail application was allowed by Hon’ble Supreme Court. It was observed that even if it was taken note that the alleged evasion of tax by the petitioner is to the extent as provided under Section 132(1)(l)(i), the punishment provided is, imprisonment which may extend to five years and fine.

10. It is further submitted that the petitioner is having history of Liver Transplant treatment for which there was no proper treatment in RIMS, Ranchi as there was no specialized department of Gastro Entomologists. Presently, the petitioner is under treatment at RIMS at Ranchi. It is further submitted that the petitioner has been diagnosed in MRI Compression of nerve roots of spine and he has been advised neuro surgery. Relevant document has been filed along with the interlocutory application. MRI of cervical and spine screening was done in which there has been found to be diffusion in the nerve.

11. It is also submitted that out of tentative assessment of GST evasion of Rs.35 Crores, the petitioner has already suo motu deposited Rs.1.25 Crores.

12. Mr. P.A.S. Pati, learned counsel appearing for the opposite party Directorate General of GST, has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail and submitted that specific role of the petitioner has come up in para 13 of the prosecution report wherein, he has been said to be the founding partner holding 40% stake and he was the authorized signatory of M/s Shubh Laxmi Traders and was principal beneficiary of large scale of GST fraud to the tune of Rs.35 Crores. It is also submitted that the investigation is still in progress as has come in the prosecution report in 17(v) against the petitioner.

13. Argument on behalf of the Petitioner appears to be persuasive.

Under the circumstances, the above-named petitioner is directed to be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs.1,00,000/-(One Lakh) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the Court below, subject to condition that both the sureties shall be income tax payee and the petitioner will also submit his Passport before the trial court while furnishing the bail bonds.