Facts of the Case

This is a cheating/fraud case, not a GST matter, though a spurious GST claim was part of the fraudulent pitch. The petitioner, Chitta Kamal Bezborah, a journalist, sought pre-arrest bail apprehending arrest in Mariani P.S. Case No. 178/2022, registered under Sections 406/420 IPC read with Sections 4/5 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978. The prosecution's case was that the petitioner solicited local people over WhatsApp to invest in a non-existent entity called "Boston Dynamic Assam," falsely claiming their money would double quickly and that the entity was paying 5% GST to the Central Government — a claim investigation showed to be entirely fictitious, as no such organisation could be traced.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner was entitled to pre-arrest bail given the nature of the allegations and the status of the investigation.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner had already been granted interim bail on 03.02.2023 and had a similar order of pre-arrest bail from a Co-ordinate Bench in a connected case (Titabor P.S. Case No. 167/2022) involving the same issues.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The petitioner did not cooperate with the investigating officer despite appearing once, and the case diary showed the petitioner and a co-accused had absconded to Guwahati after collecting the invested money.

Court Order / Findings

  • Considering that the petitioner was already on interim bail, that a Co-ordinate Bench had granted similar relief in a connected matter, and weighing the need (or lack thereof) for custodial interrogation, the Court held custodial interrogation was not warranted.
  • The interim pre-arrest bail already granted was made absolute, subject to conditions including weekly reporting to the investigating officer for ten weeks, and restrictions on leaving the police station's jurisdiction or influencing witnesses.

Important Clarification

The claim that the fraudulent scheme was "paying 5% GST to the Central Government" was, per the investigation, entirely false and part of the fraudulent pitch used to lure investors — this order does not involve any actual GST liability or interpretation of GST law.

Sections Involved

  • Indian Penal Code, 1860 — Sections 406, 420
  • Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978 — Sections 4, 5
  • Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — Section 438

Decision – In Favour of

Decided in favour of the Petitioner/Accused — pre-arrest bail was made absolute, subject to conditions.

Case Details

Court: Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh)
Case No.: Case No. AB/290/2023
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak
Date of Order: 28 June 2023

Link to Download the Order

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