New Delhi, Sep 24 (UNI) The Supreme Court has declined to declare the arrest of Chinese national Alice Li, accused in a Rs 9 crore GST fraud case, as illegal. The Court directed her husband, petitioner Xu Xunfu, to approach the trial court for her bail.
A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan observed that it was “difficult to declare the arrest illegal” and emphasised that any bail plea must be decided by the trial court strictly in accordance with law, unaffected by the Supreme Court’s refusal to entertain the Article 32 petition.
The petitioner had challenged the arrest memo dated August 26, 2025, issued by the Commissioner of Central GST, Gautam Buddha Nagar, alleging a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
Representing the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati and Special Public Prosecutor Lakshay Kumar Singh argued that the arrest, under Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017, was based on prima facie evidence against M/s Tantech LED Display Pvt. Ltd. They contended the arrest was valid as the investigation was still at an early stage.
The Court noted that the arrest memo and grounds had been duly communicated to the petitioner and her co-accused, reiterating that the trial court must consider any bail plea promptly and independently.
Advocates Abhijit Anand and Umesh Dubey represented the petitioner, while ASG Bhati, SPP Singh, and Advocate Chitragda Rashtravara appeared for the respondents.
