The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in Samarpan Jain v. State of U.P. and 2 Others [Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 23443 of 2025 dated May 21, 2026] quashed the First Information Report (“the FIR”), charge-sheet, and cognizance order initiated by the Deputy Commissioner of State GST, Rampur against an Advocate accused of criminal conspiracy with his client merely for filing a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the CGST Act”) and tendering advise for the mandatory 10% pre-deposit through the Electronic Credit Ledger by utilising Input Tax Credit. The Court held that an Advocate cannot be roped into a criminal conspiracy with his client for performing a purely professional act such as preferring an appeal, and that permitting such prosecutions would spell the end of the very existence of the Bar and the right of Advocates to practice fearlessly under the Advocates Act, 1961.
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