Transit Anticipatory Bail Granted For Ten Days to Seek Regular Relief in GST Evasion Case

By | July 11, 2026
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Transit Anticipatory Bail Granted For Ten Days to Seek Regular Relief in GST Evasion Case

Issue

Whether the petitioners are entitled to limited transit anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (or corresponding statutory provisions) to protect them from arrest while traveling to approach the jurisdictional forum in Chennai, following large-scale gold and silver jewelry tax evasion proceedings initiated by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).

Facts

  • The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) registered proceedings (No. DGGI/INT/INTL/335/2026) against the petitioners for alleged offenses under Section 132(1)(a) read with Section 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act.

  • The case involved allegations of large-scale tax evasion by a company engaged in buying old or used gold and silver jewelry across South India.

  • The revenue authorities conducted multiple raids at various locations, including Bengaluru, and seized relevant documents.

  • Apprehending arrest by the DGGI before they could approach the competent jurisdictional court in Chennai for regular anticipatory bail, the petitioners sought transit anticipatory bail.

  • The respondents opposed the petition, asserting that the petitioners posed a flight risk, and requested strict conditions if any interim protection was granted.

Decision

  • Held, that relying on the Supreme Court precedent in Priya Indoria v. State of Karnataka, limited transit protection can be granted to subserve the ends of justice without expressing any opinion on the core merits of the case.

  • Held, that the petitioners are granted interim transit anticipatory bail for a limited period of ten days from the receipt of the order to facilitate their application before the jurisdictional forum in Chennai.

  • Held, that in the event of an arrest during this ten-day window, the petitioners shall be released subject to executing a personal bond of Rs. 1 lakh each with two sureties to the satisfaction of the respondents.

  • Held, that the petitioners must actively cooperate with the ongoing DGGI investigation and surrender their passports, subject to further orders from the Chennai forum. [Decided in favour of the assessee]

Key Takeaways

  • Purpose of Transit Bail: Transit anticipatory bail serves as a temporary shield, protecting a citizen from immediate arrest by enforcement agencies while they travel to seek regular bail from the court that holds geographic jurisdiction over the offense.

  • Precedent Guided Discretion: The principles laid down in Priya Indoria allow high courts to grant extraterritorial interim protection, balancing the personal liberty of the accused against the investigative powers of the state.

  • Conditional Interim Liberty: Granting transit bail does not absolve the taxpayer from scrutiny; courts will routinely secure the revenue’s interests by mandating financial bonds, travel restrictions (like passport surrender), and strict cooperation clauses.

HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
Vishal @ Vishal Dadaso Tamkhade
v.
Director General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence
S. Vishwajith Shetty, J.
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 8230 to 8234 and 8236 OF 2026
JUNE  22, 2026
Tahir, Adv. for the Petitioner. Madhu N. Rao, Adv. for the Respondent.
ORDER
1. Petitioners in the above captioned criminal petitions who are apprehending arrest in proceedings bearing No.DGGI/INT/INTL/335/2026 registered by respondent nos.1 & 2 herein for the offences punishable under Sections 132(1)(a) read with 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act, 2017, are before this Court seeking transit anticipatory bail so as to enable them to approach the jurisdictional Court and seek anticipatory bail in the aforesaid case.
2. Heard the learned Counsel for the petitioners and the learned Counsel for the respondents who has filed statement of objections opposing the bail petitions.
3. The allegation against the accused persons who have been running business in the name of M/s. Attica Gold Pvt. Ltd., is that they are engaged in the business of purchasing old/used gold and silver jewellery from walk-in customers across various branches situated in South India, and thereby have evaded revenue to the tune of more than Rs.100 Crores.
4. During the course of investigation, multiple raids were conducted to the business premises of the petitioners at Bengaluru and other places and it appears that certain relevant documents have been seized in the present case. Since petitioners apprehend arrest at the hands of the respondents even before they approaching the jurisdictional Court at Chennai seeking anticipatory bail, they are before this Court with a prayer to grant transit anticipatory bail.
5. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Priya Indoria v. State of Karnataka (2024) 4 SCC 749, has dealt with the power of the court in detail with regard to grant of interim anticipatory bail. If the facts of the present case are evaluated in the light of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Priya Indoria’s case supra, I am of the view that without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, if the petitioners herein who are seeking transit anticipatory bail so as to enable them to approach the jurisdictional Court at Chennai in Tamilnadu State and file necessary application seeking anticipatory bail are granted relief for a limited period, the same would serve the ends of justice.
6. Learned Counsel for the respondents has expressed that the petitioners may flee away from justice in the event if they are granted interim anticipatory bail in these petitions and he has also stated that there is flight risk and submits that appropriate conditions may be imposed while granting transit anticipatory bail to the petitioners.
7. In view of the aforesaid, the criminal petitions are allowed. The petitioners are granted interim anticipatory bail in proceedings bearing No.DGGI/INT/INTL/335/2026 registered by respondent nos.1 & 2 for the offences punishable under Sections 132(1)(a) read with 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act, 2017, for a limited period of ten days from the date of receipt of the copy of this order, so as to enable the petitioners to approach the jurisdictional Court at Chennai in Tamilnadu seeking necessary reliefs in the aforesaid case. In the meanwhile, in the event of their arrest in the above case by the respondents, they shall be released, subject to the following conditions:
1. The petitioners shall execute a personal bond for a sum of 1,00,000/- with two sureties to the likesum to the satisfaction of the respondents;
2. The petitioners shall co-operate with the respondents for the purpose of investigation.
3. The petitioners shall surrender their passports to the respondents which would be subject to the orders that may be passed by the jurisdictional Court at Chennai in the petition which would be filed by the petitioners seeking anticipatory bail.