‘Why the hue & cry?’ Guj HC questions agenda behind GST fraud case publicity

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Monday called out the “hue and cry” around the arrest of journalist Mahesh Langa in connection with a case involving allegations of Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud.

Justice Sandeep N Bhatt asked why the case was “so publicized” and stated that every person is the same before the court, whether it be a politician, a reporter or otherwise.

“Why is it so publicized? Every citizen is a citizen. We don’t want any publicity, at least during the course of adjudication. This is not fair. It seems some attempt was made ... We are not carried away by such attempts. That is not proper. He may not be interested in that publicity, but whoever is behind it.. because entire petition is published or some of it ... That should not happen. Certainly, there was some ... I don’t want to now disclose since you are withdrawing,” said the judge.

The HC’s questioning after Langa’s legal counsel sought to withdraw his plea challenging a magistrate’s decision to remand him to police custody for 10 days.

Earlier, Langa had filed the plea to challenge a magistrate court’s decision, after his October 08 arrest by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) in Ahmedabad.

When the matter was taken up on Monday Langa’s counsel informed that the journalist wished to withdraw his plea.

Justice Bhatt sought to know why the plea was being withdrawn, and, whether there had been any subsequent development. However, the counsel submitted that he did not have any information in this regard.

The, the court questioned the alleged attempts to publicize the case.

Langa was arrested on the morning of October 8 by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) along with three others in Gujarat.

His arrest came after 13 firms and their owners were booked for allegedly committing fraud while claiming input tax credit, based on a complaint by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Crime Branch arrested four more individuals linked to the massive GST fraud case on Monday, bringing the total number of arrests to eight.   

Among those apprehended, three are from Bhavnagar, and one is from Rajkot. The investigation was launched following the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) uncovering fraudulent billing practices tied to Dhruvi Enterprise, an alleged shell company.

The DGGI’s probe revealed that Dhruvi Enterprise secured a GST registration in March 2023 using a forged rental agreement. The tax department later cancelled this registration, leading to a deeper investigation into the firm’s operations.

The four accused were identified as Faizal Munafbhai Sheikh (32), residing in Vadva, Bhavnagar. He is accused of forwarding Dhruvi Enterprise’s files and playing a key role in facilitating its operations.

Irfanbhai alias Padu Sattarbhai Jethwa (42), residing in Bhavnagar. He allegedly ran the business operations of Dhruvi Enterprise, making key decisions regarding fraudulent transactions.

Jignesh Himmatlal Desai (50), a resident of Bhavnagar. Desai is accused of managing Dhruvi Enterprise’s bank accounts, aiding in the financial aspects of the fraudulent scheme.

Paresh Pradipbhai Dodia (25), a businessman from Gondal, Rajkot. Dodia is the proprietor of Prakash Industries and is alleged to have been involved in facilitating illegal activities tied to the shell company.

Crime branch officials said that documents belonging to Haresh Makwana, a daily wage worker from Gadhada in Bhavnagar, were fraudulently used to establish Dhruvi Enterprise.

Dhruvi Enterprise is at the centre of the GST fraud case, which is estimated to be worth Rs50,000 crore.

Last week, the Ahmedabad crime branch filed an FIR against 13 companies following a complaint. The complaint outlined how a network of fake companies was created to claim fraudulent input tax credits (ITC) through fake transactions, defrauding the government.