Accused can’t be kept incarcerated indefinitely: Court

New Delhi: An accused cannot be kept in indefinite incarceration due to slow progress of the investigation, a Delhi court held while granting bail to a tax official arrested for receiving illegal gratification from a shop owner for not canceling his GST registration.
“For the slow progress in the investigation, the accused cannot be kept incarcerated for an indefinite time. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the fact that the accused is in judicial custody since his arrest, he is ordered to be released on bail,” said special CBI judge Raj Kumar Chauhan.
The court also directed the accused to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety of the same amount.
During the course of the hearing, GST official Paras Goel through his counsel Vijay Aggarwal argued that he was falsely implicated in the case.
“It is alleged that my client made a phone call from a number on 9th, while the fact of the matter is that the said phone number in question was purchased by him only on the 21st of the said month,” Aggarwal said.
He further argued that the gratification amount was received from his client’s pocket but there was no hand touch on the said amount. “Plantation cannot be ruled out,” Aggarwal contended.