Jaipur's special court grants bail to Ghasi Lal Chaudhary in Rs 700 crore GST evasion case

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], March 1 : The Special Economic Offence Court of Jaipur, Rajasthan, has granted bail to Ghasi Lal Chaudhary in connection with the alleged Rs 700 crore GST evasion case.
The Sunil Kumar Meena Judge Special Economic Offense Court reserved the order on 27.02.2025 and passed it on February 28, granting bail to Ghasi Lal Chaudhary.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) Jaipur 10 days ago stated that it has uncovered a GST evasion racket and seized evidence of Rs.700 Crore GST fraud during raids at 15 locations across Rajasthan, including Bhilwara, Jaipur, Udaipur and Sikar.
After the raids, seven individuals, including Ghasi Lal Chaudhary from Jaipur, Kesardev Sharma and scrap dealer Arun Jindal, were arrested from various locations on 19.02.2025.
DGGI found records of 13 lakh tons of iron and steel goods being supplied without proper tax compliance, and the estimated market value of these goods stands at Rs 4,000 crore.
It was argued by Advocate Sumit Gehlot on behalf of Ghasi Lal Chaudhary that his client was innocent and had been falsely implicated. There is no incriminating evidence found in the search conducted by DGGI at the office premises and residence of his client.
Gehlot further argued that there is no evidence against his client or linking him with the main accused, who are Mahavir Trading, Rumjan Sarajuddin Shah, Manoj Vijay, Naveen Yadav, and Rajeev Yadav. It is not DGGI's case that his client is a director, partner, or beneficiary in any of the main accused's Firms.
The only allegation in the remand application was that in a raid conducted on the office premises of the main accused, DGGI found an Excel Sheet from Sep. 2023 to Fe, 2025, in which details of some alleged bills are mentioned relating to Ghasi Lal's Firm - Nirman Infra. Pvt. Ltd., however, in the objections to the bail application, the said Excel sheet is allegedly stated to be provided by some unknown informer. There are sheer contradictions, and the DGGI source itself is not confirmed.
Sumit Gehlot further argued that the alleged Excel sheet recovered from the main accused does not establish any link between Ghasi Lal and the other accused. The entire prosecution's case is based on the statement of the main accused, and nothing to corroborate the same has been recovered from his client. The DGGI's case is based only on assumptions and presumptions, and no offense under Section 132 of the GST Act is made out, and his client is innocent.
However, DGGI Jaipur argued that the GST evasion network is suspected to have links beyond Rajasthan, extending into Haryana and Punjab, and the accused operated through fake companies to supply iron and steel products while bypassing tax regulations.