IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI MONDAY, THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF AUGUST. TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE .PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RA(S CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7374 OF 2025 j AHi) I 5 =c- \ I'V? 4 'c r J' y ii 1. Dhana Khara @ Dama Khara, S/o Padam Khara, Age 31 years^R/iS' .n' Between: t D.No.76, RSC No.13, Nuaaguda Post, Chitrakonda Taana, Odisha State. 2. Sukra Matam, S/o Arjun Matam, Age 40 years, R/o D.No.DYKE-111 Chitrakonda Taana, Malkangiri District, Odisha State. ) Petitioners/Accused No. 5 & 6 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh. Through Station House Officer Gajuwaka PS. Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravathi, Guntur District. ) Respondent/Complainant (Petitioner No.l/Accused No.5 name In Cause title is Amended as per the Court’s order dated 22.08.2025 in I.A.No.1 of 2025 in Crlp.No.7374 of 2025) Petition under Section 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C/ 480 & 483 of BNSS., is filed praying that in the circumstances stated in the grounds filed in support of the Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to release the petitioners Bail in connection with Crime No. 57 of 2025 on the file of the Gajuwaka Police Station. on ■:t The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the Petition and thei affidavit filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of Sri. BANDI PRAVEENA, Advocate for the Petitioners and of PUBLIC PROSECUTOR the Respondent: . for; The Court made the following ORDER: 2 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7374 of 2025 Dated 18.08.2025 The Court made the following: ORDER: The Criminal Petition has been filed under Sections 437 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for brevity ‘the Cr.P.C.’)/ Sections 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNSS’), seeking to enlarge the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 on bail in Cr.No.57 of 2025 of Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapatnam Commissionerate, registered against the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 herein for the offences punishable under Section 20 (b) (ii)(C) read with 8 (c), 25 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity ‘the NDPS Act’). 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 11.02.2025, at about 07.00 hours, on receipt of credible information about illegal possession and transportation of ganja, the City Task Force, Visakhapatnam, along with the staff of Gajuwaka Police Station, secured mediators, rushed to behind More Super Market, VUDA Colony, Kanithi Road, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam City, and conducted a raid. During the search. Accused Nos.1 to 8 were apprehended, while A-9 is absconding. In the presence of mediators, the police seized (1) 184 kgs of ganja, (2) a Kia Seltos car bearing No. OD10U 7595, and (3) eight mobile phones belonging to the 3 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7374 of 2025 Dated 18.08.2025 accused. The contraband, vehicle, and cell phones were seized under the cover of a mediators’ report, and the accused were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Ms.Bandi Praveena, the learned counsel for the petitioners contend 3. that the petitioners are innocent of the alleged offence and have been falsely implicated by the police. It is further submitted that the petitioners are the sole earning members of the family and, therefore, their incarceration would cause undue hardship to their dependents. The petitioners undertake to strictly adhere to any conditions that may be imposed by this Court. In light of the foregoing submissions, learned counsel prays that the present petition be allowed in the interest of justice. Per contra, Ms.P.Akhila Naidu, the learned Assistant Public 4. Prosecutor vehemently opposed the grant of bail to the petitioners, submitting that the investigation is still underway and several material witnesses remain to be examined. It is contended that if the petitioners are released on bail at this stage, there is a strong likelihood that they may abscond, thereby hampering the ongoing investigation and evading the process of law. In view of the foregoing submissions, it is urged that the petition be dismissed. 4 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.N0.7374 of 2025 Dated 18.08.2025 5. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. As seen from the record, the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 were indulged in possession and transportation of 184.00 kgs of ganja. Although it is a commercial quantity, the petitioners have been languishing in jail since 11.02.2025. Nearly for the past 190 days they have been in judicial custody. The petitioner/Accused No.5 is a permanent resident of Nuaaguda Post, Chitrakonda Taana, Odisha State. The petitioner/Accused No.6 is a permanent resident of Chitrakonda Taana, Malkangiri District, Odisha State. The material portion of the investigation is completed; hence, the petitioners may not have impeded the investigation process. All the witnesses of the prosecution are official witnesses. Hence, the question of the petitioners influencing or threatening the witnesses or hampering the investigation may not arise. The Accused Nos.1 and 3 were already enlarged on bail by this Court. 6. 7. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there are no adverse antecedent against the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 and no report was filed before the learned Court below by the learned Public Prosecutor concerned seeking for extension period of judicial custody of the petitioners upto one year by indicating the progress of investigation and 5 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7374 of 2025 Dated 18.08.2025 the specific reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the initial period. Section 36A(4) of ‘the NDPS Act’ states that if the investigation is not completed within 180 days, the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 has an indefeasible right to bail, unless the Special Court extends the period up to one year on the report of the Public Prosecutor, indicating the progress of the investigation and specific reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the initial period. 8. period of detention undergone by the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 in judicial custody for the past 190 days, the nature and gravity of allegation levelled against the petitioners, and their alleged role played in the case, this Court is inclined to enlarge the petitioners on bail with the following stringent conditions; 9. Considering the i. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 shall be enlarged on bail subject to they executing a bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only), each with two sureties each for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the learned III Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam. ii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 shall appear before the Station House Officer concerned on every Saturday in 6 Dr. YLR, J Grip.No.7374 of2025 Dated 18.08.2025 between 10:00 am and 05:00 pm, till cognizance is taken by the learned the Trial Court. iii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 shallnot leave the limits of the District without prior permission from the Station House Officer concerned. iv. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 shall not commit indulge in commission of any offence in future. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigation of the and shall make themselves available for interrogation by the investigating officer as and when required. Vi. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 6 shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer. or V. case 10. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR SECTION OFFICER //TRUE COPY// To 1. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Gajuwaka Visakhapatnam. 2. The Metropolitan Sessions Judge - Cum - I Additional District by Sessions Judge - Special Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam. 3. The Superintendent, Central Prison, Visakhapatnam. 4. The Station House Officer, Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapatnam. 5. One CC to Sri. BANDI PRAVEENA, Advocate [OPUC] 6. Two CCs to PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati. [OUT] 7. One spare copy JSS Note: Name of the Petitioner No.1/Accused No.5 in Cause Title is amended as Dhana Khara@ Dama Khara as per Court order dated 22.08.2025. Substitute this amended order in place of the earlier order which was dispatched on 21.08.2025. Sd/-B.PRASADA RAO ASSISTANT REGISTRAR HIGH COURT •a. DR.YLR, J DATED: 18/08/2025 (22.08.2025) BAIL ORDER (Amended) CRLP.No.7374 of 2025 ALLOWED