MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has allowed a Mumbai businessman accused in a ₹399.92 crore GST fraud case to travel to Europe and Indonesia, observing that the right to travel abroad was a fundamental right to personal liberty and equality.
Justice N J Jamadar permitted 68-year-old Daulat Mehta to undertake business trips to London, Paris, Berlin and Italy for 10 days, and to travel to Bali for an eight-day holiday.
Personal liberty, the court said, is not confined to freedom from arrest and detention. It includes the right to travel abroad and return to India without hindrance, it observed in its February 16 order.
Mehta, a Vile Parle resident, was arrested in January 2021 by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence in a case involving alleged wrongful claim of Input Tax Credit (ITC) using bogus invoices. ITC allows businesses to claim credit for tax paid on purchases. The GST department alleged that fraudulent ITC claims caused a loss of nearly ₹400 crore to the exchequer.
The High Court granted bail to Mehta in February 2021.
A magistrate had, in May 2025, rejected Mehta’s plea to travel abroad for 60 days, noting the offence was serious and there was a risk of him absconding.
Before the High Court, Mehta said he needed to travel for business expansion as managing director of three companies including Twinstar Industries Ltd and Originet Technologies Ltd, that are accused in the case. He also wanted to go to Bali on a family trip from March 2 to March 12.
The GST department opposed Mehta’s plea saying prosecution sanction was obtained and a complaint filed. It said he may flee India if allowed to go abroad.
However, the High Court noted that since his release on bail, there was no allegation that Mehta had violated bail conditions or tried to evade the law. The court said that an apprehension that was prima facie not backed by the material on record, cannot be cited to stop Mehta from travelling abroad.
The court directed Mehta to deposit ₹1 lakh as security, submit his detailed travel itinerary, and provide copies of his passport before the trial court.