The Gauhati High Court has directed the de-freezing of four personal bank accounts belonging to the wife, mother and father of the directors of M/s Salasar Exim Ltd. — provisionally attached by DGGI under Section 83 of the CGST Act in May 2022 in connection with an investigation into alleged ITC fraud of Rs. 109 crores — holding that the provisional attachment orders ceased to have effect after one year under Section 83(2) and that no subsequent attachment orders were passed within or after the one-year period. The ruling by Justice Manish Choudhury in WP(C) 4286, 4298, 4299/2026 (Ritu Mandelia, Kavita Mandelia and Ashok Kumar Mandelia, decided 31.08.2026) follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Keshari Nandan Mobile v. Office of Assistant Commissioner (2026) 5 SCC 461 and the earlier Constitution Bench principles in Radha Krishan Industries v. State of HP (2021) 6 SCC 771.
The court noted that the Demand-cum-SCN dated 25.06.2025 was issued only to the company and its CEO (a different Mandelia family member), not to any of the three petitioners. The Revenue conceded that no second provisional attachment orders were passed. The court held that the Revenue’s continued de facto blocking of the accounts for over four years — well beyond the one-year statutory limit — without any fresh order or any SCN against the petitioners was contrary to the provisions of the CGST Act and the mandate of the Supreme Court.
- 2026-juristway.com-2639-HC(Gauhati)-GST | High Court of Gauhati | WP(C) 4286, 4298, 4299/2026 | 31.08.2026