CrPC provisions on accused’s rights will apply to arrests under GST, Customs Acts: SC
The Supreme Court on Thursday held that the provisions of The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, now replaced with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), regarding the rights of the accused will apply to arrests made under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and Customs Act, 1962, as well.
The ruling came from a three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justices M M Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi on a batch of 279 petitions which contended that the penal provisions of the Acts were not compatible with the Constitution and the CrPC.
The bench said that accordingly, the anticipatory bail provisions will apply to the GST and Customs Act too and the proposed accused can move a court seeking protection in case of apprehension from arrest.
The court, however, was of the view that Customs officers are not police officers for purposes of the Customs Act.
The bench delivered two separate concurring judgments – one by the CJI and the other by Justice Trivedi.
