Kanpur: Chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Kanpur Nagar, on Thursday rejected the bail application of a man accused in a Rs 20 crore cess tax evasion case.According to special prosecution officer Ambarish Tandon, the accused, Ajay, had rented a property for pan masala packaging and allegedly operated three machines through which he evaded cess tax under the relevant provisions of the HSNS Cess Act, 2025.Tandon said Ajay’s monthly cess liability was assessed at around Rs 1 crore and that he allegedly evaded tax amounting to nearly Rs 20 crore. He was arrested on Sept 12, 2026, and the department seized three packaging machines from the premises.The defence, however, argued that Ajay was merely an employee of the firm and was being falsely implicated in the case.After hearing arguments from both sides, presiding judge Anandesh Singh observed in his order that the matter pertained to an economic offence.Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, and without commenting on its merits, the court held that the bail application of the accused was liable to be rejected.
