Facts of the Case

Akash Yadav sought regular bail in Case Crime No. 182 of 2023, registered at P.S. Robertsganj, District Sonebhadra, under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B IPC. He had been in custody since 07.04.2023. His counsel submitted that the applicant ran a Common Service Centre (CSC)/Jan Seva Kendra under the name 'Jai Gurudev Phot State', registered with GST, with a registration certificate issued by the Government of India, and also held a certificate from the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance for conducting banking activities — cited to demonstrate that he ran a genuine, legitimate business rather than a fraudulent operation.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the applicant made out a case for regular bail, given his plea of false implication and the recovery of only a biometric machine belonging to his CSC.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The applicant was falsely implicated due to an ulterior motive; the concocted story was set up against him though he had not committed the alleged offence.
  • The applicant ran a legitimate, GST-registered business (a CSC/Jan Seva Kendra) and separately held a banking-activities certificate; nothing incriminating was recovered from his possession beyond a biometric machine belonging to the CSC.
  • He had no criminal history, was in custody since 07.04.2023, and was willing to cooperate with the investigation and remain available to the court.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The State opposed the bail prayer; the specific counter-submissions beyond standard opposition are not detailed in the extracted order.

Court Order / Findings

  • Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, and considering the facts and circumstances, the nature of the offence, the evidence and the complicity of the accused, the Court held the applicant had made out a case for bail, applying the principles in Satendra Kumar Antil v. C.B.I., S.L.P.(Crl.) No. 5191 of 2021.
  • Bail was allowed subject to standard conditions — furnishing a personal bond with two sureties, not tampering with evidence or witnesses, cooperating in trial, and not committing further offences.
  • The trial court was directed to expedite and conclude the trial preferably within six months.

Important Clarification

This order does not decide any GST question. The applicant's GST registration is mentioned only as background evidence that he ran a legitimate CSC/Jan Seva Kendra business, offered in support of his plea of false implication in an unrelated IPC cheating/forgery case — there is no allegation of GST fraud or evasion anywhere in the case.

Sections Involved

  • Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, Indian Penal Code, 1860 — cheating by personation, cheating, forgery, forgery of valuable security, using forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.

Decision – In Favour of

Decided in favour of the applicant (Akash Yadav) — regular bail was granted, without any observation on GST law.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
  • Case No.: Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 21890 of 2023
  • Neutral Citation: 2023:AHC:118638
  • Coram: Hon'ble Vivek Kumar Singh, J.
  • Date of Order: 24 May 2023

Link to Download the Order

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