Ahmedabad, Oct 11 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court on Friday heard a plea moved by a senior journalist arrested in a Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud case challenging a 10-day remand order of a magistrate court.
The Ahmedabad crime branch arrested Mahesh Langa, a senior journalist with a leading newspaper, in the fraud case on October 8.
After briefly hearing the matter, the court of Justice Sandeep Bhatt kept it for further hearing on Monday after asking Langa’s counsel to serve copies of the plea to the prosecution.
Langa’s lawyer, Jal Unwalla, challenged the magistrate’s remand order, contending that the court passed the order without the application of mind.
Unwalla further submitted before the high court that Langa’s name was not mentioned in the FIR in connection with which he was arrested.
The alleged firm belonging to him, DA Enterprise, had two proprietors, and Langa is not one of them, he said.
“The Supreme Court’s judgment says that it is ultimately not by the gravity of the offence but the need for remand which would be very relevant here. Therefore, the application of mind and the subjective satisfaction of not only the learned magistrate but also the investigating officer will have to be looked into. That is what the law is,” the counsel said.
He also stated that as per the case, around 220 shell companies are trying to take tax credits and causing losses to the government.
Of these 220 companies, Langa’s is just one company, known as DA Enterprise, which has two partners or proprietors — one Mr Manoj and Kavitaben, he said.
The court directed Langa’s counsel to provide copies of the plea to the prosecution and kept the matter for hearing on Monday.
The crime branch has registered an FIR against several persons and entities after getting a complaint from Central GST over an alleged scam involving shell firms set up to defraud the government through bogus input tax credits and fraudulent transactions. PTI KA PD ARU
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