1 CRL.P. No.4215 of 2025 APHC010196222025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3457] WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY THIRD DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE HARINATH.N CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 4215/2025 Between: J.c.b India Limited, and Others ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED(S) AND The State Of Andhra Pradesh ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused(S): 1. T V JAGGI REDDY Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following: 2 CRL.P. No.4215 of 2025 THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE HARINATH.N CRIMINAL PETITION No.4215 OF 2025 ORDER: 1. Heard the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing for the State. 2. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is the lawful owner of the engine blocks that were being transported on a lorry from Tamil Nadu to Himachal Pradesh. The petitioner filed Crl.M.P.No.80 of 2025 before the I Additional District & Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for Trial of Offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Visakhapatnam, seeking custody of the 4 CYL BLOCK (320/01604), comprising 108 units of engine blocks. During the vehicle check, the police found 108 gunny bags of ganja in the lorry. However, the petitioner asserts that the lorry and the engine blocks in question are exclusively his property and bear no connection to the alleged offence. 3. The learned Sessions Judge, upon considering the petition, vide order dated 18.02.2025 in Crl.M.P.No.80 of 2025, granted custody of the engine blocks to the petitioner, subject to the execution of a personal bond of Rs.10,00,000/- along with one surety to the satisfaction of the XV Additional Metropolitan Magistrate, 3 CRL.P. No.4215 of 2025 Bheemunipatnam and the furnishing of a bank guarantee of Rs.10,00,000/-. 4. The learned counsel further submits that the engine blocks are entirely unrelated to the alleged offence and are essential for transportation to Himachal Pradesh. It is submitted that prolonged exposure to environmental conditions would result in depreciation and deterioration, rendering the blocks unusable over time. The petitioner expresses willingness to comply with the surety requirements as directed by the court, but seeks reconsideration of the condition mandating the furnishing of a bank guarantee. 5. Upon due consideration, the condition imposed by the learned Sessions Judge in Crl.M.P. No.80 of 2025, requiring the petitioner to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs.10,00,000/- is hereby set aside. Furthermore, the restriction preventing the petitioner from alienating, altering, or modifying the physical attributes of the engine blocks during the pendency of the case is revoked, as the blocks are intended for assembly in heavy infrastructure and machinery and that the engine blocks bear no relevance to the ongoing proceedings before the I Additional District & Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for Trial of offences under the NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam. However, the condition requiring the execution of a personal bond of Rs.10,00,000/- shall remain in force till the conclusion of the proceedings. 4 CRL.P. No.4215 of 2025 6. Accordingly, the criminal petition is allowed in part. 7. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this criminal petition shall stand closed. ____________________ JUSTICE HARINATH.N Dt.23.04.2025 BV