Mahesh Langa, a journalist with The Hindu, has approached the Gujarat High Court to contest a magistrate's decision that remanded him to police custody for ten days following his arrest on October 8, related to a suspected Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud investigation.

Langa, along with three others, was detained by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) after a complaint from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), which accused 13 firms, including over 220 benami companies, of perpetrating

GST fraud that allegedly caused significant losses to the government through the fraudulent claiming of Input Tax Credit (ITC) via fake invoices.

Langa's alleged involvement is linked to DA Enterprise, a company co-owned by his cousin, though he asserts in his petition that he has no ties to its operations and was not named in the First Information Report (FIR). He argues that his arrest is politically motivated, intended to hinder his journalistic endeavors.

The case was presented before Justice Sandeep Bhatt, where Senior Advocate Jal Unwala contended that the magistrate’s remand order reflected a lack of judicial consideration, as it permitted a 10-day remand without sufficient justification. Unwala cited a Supreme Court ruling emphasizing that remand durations should not be dictated solely by the seriousness of the alleged offence.

After a preliminary hearing, the High Court instructed that copies of the petition be provided to the State and scheduled a hearing, directing the State’s counsel to gather instructions prior to the next session