Overview
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 12 set aside a Bombay High Court order that had given Future Group non‑executive director Sunil Biyani one week of protection from arrest in a GST probe.
- The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu ordered that any Section 69 arrest authorisation must be communicated to the affected person and that the communication may be sent by email.
- The Bombay High Court had earlier held Biyani’s anticipatory bail petition was premature because no Section 69 arrest order had been issued but nonetheless granted conditional one‑week protection, a step the Union government appealed.
- The DGGI investigation alleges fake invoicing and circular input tax credit transactions tied to large foreign remittances with reported GST exposure of more than ₹200 crore; Biyani has denied wrongdoing, said he resigned in July 2023, and offered to cooperate.
- The case was disposed on the terms of the communication requirement and the ruling could change how GST arrest orders are served and challenged, so the next developments to watch are any formal Section 69 orders from the GST commissioner and subsequent legal challenges.