IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVAT±I`: MONDAY, THE ELEVENTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE :PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7333 OF 2025 / Betwee n : 1. Bideshi Kumar Sahu, S/o. Ramuhari Sahu, Aged about 42 years, R/o. Power plant colony, Bariiput Mundiguda, Kraput, Odisha State 2. Manoj Khemundu, S/o. Padalam Khemundu Aged about 35 years, R/o. Power House, Maliguda, Bariniput, Mondiguda, Koraput, Odisha State Petitioners/Accused Mos. 4&8 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh through the station House Officer Gajuwaka Police Station, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh Nelapadu, Amaravathi, Guntur District f~ Respondent/Complainant Petition under sections 480 & 483 of BNSS (old Sections 437 & 439 of Cr.P,C), praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to release the Petitioners / A4 & A8 on bail in connection with crime No. 57 / 2025 of Gajuwaka Police Station u/s. 20 (b) (ii) (c), 25 R/w. 8 (c) of NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam District dt: ll.02.2025. The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petition and the grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of sri K PRIDHVI RAJU, Advocate for the petitioners and of PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the Respondent and the court made the following; `=``.\``\ El Dr. YLR, Js CrI.P.No.7333 of 2025 Dated ll.08.2025 The Court made the following: ORDER: c===-a-- -y. The CrimI'naI Petition has been filed under Sections 437 and 439 of the code of crI'minal Procedure, 1973 (for brevity [the cr.p.c.I)/ sectI'OnS 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity [{he BNSS'), seeking to enlarge the petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 ori bail in Cr.No.57 of 2025 of Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapatnam CommI-SSiOnerate, regl-stered against the petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and -8 herein for the offences punishable under section 20 (b) (il-)(C), 25 read with 8(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity lthe NDPS Act'). 2. The case of the prosecution is that on ll.02.2025, on receipt of credible I-nformation regarding the illegal possession and transportation of ganja, the Sub-Inspector of Police, Gajuwaka Police Station, along with his staff, secured the presence of mediators and obtained a search warrant, I and reached D.No. 24-9-1/3, behind More Super Market, VUDA Colony, Kanithi Road, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam. The police found that the said house is a three-storied buI'Iding, and upon entering the sal'd buildI'ng, they found one house on the ground floor. The police knocked on the door of the ground floor house, and soon after, one male person opened the door. E=i= '`,.9 The police then found eight male persons insI-de the house. Upon __-_ = 3 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7333 of 2025 Dated ll.08.2O25 verifI'CatiOn, they found six cardboard boxes in the bedroom. The six cardboard boxes contained 90 packets of ganja. During the interrogation, the Sub-Inspector of police seized 4 packets from the vehicle KIA Seltos, grey colour, bearing registration No. OD 10 U 7595. The lnvestigatI'ng Officer seized a total of 94 packets of ganja, weighing 184.00 kgs, under the cover of a medI'atOrSJ report, and the accused were arrested. 3. Mr.K.Pridhvi Raju, the learned counsel for the petitI-OnerS COntendS that the petitI|OnerS are innocent of the alleged offence and have been falsely i.mplicated by the police. lt I-S further Submitted that the petitioners are the sole earning members of the family and, therefore, their continued I-nCarCeratiOn 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, learned counsel prays that the present petition be allowed in the interest of justice. 4. Perconfra, Ms.P.Akhila Naidu, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor vehemently opposed the grant of bail to the petI'tiOnerS, Submitting that the I'nVeStigatiOn iS Still underway and several material witnesses remain to be examined. lt is contended that if the petitioners are released on bail at this stage, there is a strong likelihood that they may absconci, thereby hampering the ongoing investigatlfofr-land evading the process of law. ln view of the foregoing, it is urged that the petition be dismissed. '\ __ I + 4 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No.7333 of 2O25 Dclted ll.O8.2025 5. As seen from the record, the petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 were indulged in poss.ession of 184.00 kgs of ganja. Although it is commercial quantity, the petitioners have been languishing in the jail since ll.02.2025 onwards. Nearly for the past 180 days they have been in the judicial custody. The investigating officer has not filed charge sheet in this case. Material portion of investigation is completed. All the witnesses of the prosecution are official witnesses. Hence, the question of petitioners influencing or threatening the witnesses or hampering the investigation may not arise. 6. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there are no adverse antecedents against the petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 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 petitioner upto one year by indicating the progress of I-nvestigation and the specific reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the initial -period. 7. Section 36A(4) of lthe NDPS ActJ states that if the investigation is not completed within 180 days, the petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 have an indefeasible right to bail, unless the Sr,ecial 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. _ L=ri \.-I ___: ____-- 7 5 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7333 of 2025 Dated ll.O8.2025 8. consjderjng the period of detention undergone by the petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 I'n judicl-al custody for the past 1'80 days, the nature and gravj{y of allegation levelled agaI-nS{ the petitioners, and theI'r alleged role played ]|n the case, this court is inclined to enlarge the petitI'OnerS on bail with the following stringent condjtI'OnS.I I'. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 shall be enlarged on bail subject to they executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees FI'fty Thousand only), each with two suretl'es each for the like sum each {o the satI-SfaC{iOn Of the learned Ill Additional chI-ef JudI-CiaI Magistrate at Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam. ii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 shall appear before the station House officer concerned on every saturday in between 10:00 am and o5.too pm, {I-II cognjzance js taken by the learned the Trial Court. iii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 shall not leave the limits of the District without prior permission from the station House officer concerned. iv. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 shall not commit or I'ndulge in commI'SSjOn Of any offence in future. v. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 shall cooperate wI-th the investigating officer I'n further investigation of the case and i.\ rF-FS 6 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No.7333 of 2025 Dclted ll.08.2025 shall make themselves available for int?rrogation by the investigating officer as and when required. vi. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 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. vii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.4 and 8 shall surrender their passports, if any, to the investigating officer. [f they claim that they do not have passports, they shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the Investigating Officer. 9. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is a[[owed. SD/-B.PRASAD RAO ASSISTA lSTRAR //TRUE COPY// SECTIOl%i5:FICER I •To, 1. The I Additional District & Sessions Judge-Gum-Special Judge for Trail of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam 2. The Ill Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam 3. The Superintendent, Central Prison, Visakhapatnam 4. The Station House Officer, Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapa{nam 5. One CC to SRl. K PRIDHVI RAJU Advocate [OPUC] 6. Two CCs to Public Prosecutor, High Court ofAP [OUT] 7. One spare copy HIGH COURT DR.YLR,J DATED:ll/08/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No.7333 of 2025 ALLOWED