Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court today granted regular bail to journalist Mahesh Langa in a case involving cheating and forgery, registered by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) Ahmedabad. Langa was accused of being involved with a firm that allegedly defrauded the government by using bogus Input Tax Credit (ITC). The court of Justice MR Megdey, after considering arguments from both sides and referencing a Supreme Court ruling, concluded that Langa should be granted bail, with conditions including a personal bond of Rs. 10,000 and one surety.

However, Langa’s release is conditional, as he remains in custody for a separate FIR registered by the Rajkot Police. The DCB’s FIR alleges that Langa was involved in a fraudulent scheme that created over 220 non-existent firms to obtain GST registrations through fake documents, leading to a loss in tax revenue. Langa is accused of managing DA Enterprises, which allegedly entered into transactions with a fake firm, Dhruvi Enterprises, to evade taxes.

Langa had earlier moved the High Court after his bail request was denied by the Sessions Court and Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate. He argued that the FIR was delayed by 17 months and was based on documents already in possession of the authorities. Langa claimed the charges were unsupported by evidence, and that the prosecution had bypassed the GST Act, which governs such offenses, without obtaining the necessary sanction for penal action.