Facts of the Case

This is ABLAPL No. 3589 of 2023 before the Orissa High Court at Cuttack, an application under Section 438 CrPC for anticipatory bail filed by D. Madhab, apprehending arrest in connection with offences under Sections 419, 420 and 34 IPC. This is a cheating case, not a GST case. As per the FIR, the petitioner, who had a relationship with the informant's husband during the latter's stay at Gopalpur, gave an assurance to supply nine Hyva vehicles and collected Rs.1.5 lakh plus Rs.70,000/- in cash from the informant's husband's nephew, and later a total of Rs.7,25,000/- on the assurance of business under 'DT Traders GST'. The vehicles were never supplied, the money was not refunded, and the petitioner allegedly absconded thereafter.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner given the nature and seriousness of the cheating allegations.
  2. Whether any conditional protection should instead be granted linked to a related criminal case pending at Dhenkanal.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Sought anticipatory bail on the ground of apprehended arrest, through submissions on the nature of allegations and surrounding circumstances (not elaborated in detail in the order).

Respondent's Arguments

  • The State opposed the plea for anticipatory bail, pointing to the seriousness and gravity of the offences alleged.

Court Order / Findings

  • Considering the nature of the allegations and the gravity of the offences, the Court declined to grant anticipatory bail outright.
  • Instead, it directed that if the petitioner surrenders and moves for bail within three weeks in the connected Dhenkanal Town P.S. Case No. 614 of 2022 (G.R. Case No. 1482 of 2022), he shall be admitted to bail by that court on furnishing a cash deposit of Rs.10,000/- and other conditions, including weekly appearance before the Investigating Officer, non-tampering with evidence, and non-repetition of similar offences.
  • The trial court was directed to verify the petitioner's criminal antecedents, and if adverse antecedents were found, the present order would not apply and the bail matter would be decided independently on merits.

Important Clarification

This is not a GST-law decision — it is a bail order in a cheating case where the business under which money was collected happened to carry the name 'GST' as part of its trade style ('DT Traders GST'). No GST compliance question was examined by the Court; the reference is purely incidental to the facts of the alleged fraud.

Sections Involved

  • Section 438, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
  • Sections 419, 420 and 34, Indian Penal Code, 1860

Decision – In Favour of

Neither fully in favour of the petitioner nor the State — anticipatory bail was refused, but a conditional pathway to regular bail was carved out upon surrender within three weeks, subject to verification of antecedents.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Orissa at Cuttack
Case No.: ABLAPL No. 3589 of 2023
Coram: Justice Chittaranjan Dash
Date: 24 April 2023

Link to Download the Order

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