In a recent ruling, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate ( ACJM ) of Gurugram declared the arrest of Yogesh Gupta by GST officials as illegal citing non-compliance with procedural safeguards under 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure ( CrPC ) and Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita ( BNSS ).
The court explained that Section 69 of the Central Goods and Services Tax ( CGST ) permits arrest for offenses punishable by up to 5 years, it does not exclude adherence to the procedural requirements of prior notice mandated under Section 41A of the CrPC.
The case arose from allegations against Yogesh Gupta for offenses under Section 132 ( 1 ) of the CGST Act, 2017. The GST department arrested Gupta without issuing prior notice stating that the provisions of Section 69 of the CGST Act override the safeguards provided under the CrPC. The prosecution argued that procedural safeguards like prior notice were unnecessary for arrests made under a special act like the CGST Act.
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The accused challenged the arrest, arguing that it violated the safeguards under Section 41A of the CrPC and Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which require prior notice for offenses punishable by up to 7 years. The defense pointed out that failure to comply with these safeguards rendered the arrest illegal.
The defense cited case precedents, including Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar and State of Gujarat vs. Choodamani Parme Shwaran Iyer, arguing that procedural safeguards under CrPC are applicable even in cases involving special laws like the CGST Act.
The court led by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Anant Kr. Mehta observed that the procedural safeguards under Section 41A of the CrPC are not excluded by Section 69 of the CGST Act. The court referred to prior judgments including those of the Punjab & Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court, which upheld the requirement of compliance with CrPC safeguards in similar cases.
The ACJM ruled that the GST department’s failure to issue prior notice to Yogesh Gupta violated the procedural requirements of Section 41A of the CrPC and made the arrest illegal. The court ordered Gupta’s immediate release and clarified that the prosecution may re-arrest him only after complying with the mandated safeguards.
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