APHC010356042025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] WEDNESDAY,THE TWENTY THIRD DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7370/2025 Between: PASALA SATHI BABU ALIAS SPIDER MAN, S/O. GANGA RAJU, AGE ABOUT 34 YRS, R/O. SATELLITE CITY VILLAGE, RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM RURAL MANDAL. EAST GODAVARI DISTRICT. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep., by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravathi ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: KADIYAM NEELAKANTESWARA RAO Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR 2 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7370 of 2025 Dated 23.07.2025 The Court made the following: ORDER: The Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNSS’) by the petitioner/Accused for granting of pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No.267 of 2025 of Prohibition & Excise Station, East Godavari District, registered for the alleged offences punishable under Section 7-B read with 8-A of the Andhra Pradesh Prohibition Act, 2020. 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 29.05.2025, the Prohibition and Excise Inspector, Mangalagiri, along with staff, and mediators proceeded to the scene of offence. At about 10:05 A.M., reached the government land (LAT:16.987725/LON:81.839349) behind the church near Rajeev Gruhakalpa houses, Satelite city "C" Block, Rajamahendravaram Rural Mandal. At the location, they detected the smell of fermented jaggery wash (FJ wash) and saw one person and he ran away from the scene. The mediator identified the person as Pasala Sathibabu @ Spider Man/petitioner/Accused herein. The team confirmed his identity based on the mediator’s statement. Upon searching the premises, the team found 2,800 litres of FJ Wash stored in 14 white plastic drums, each containing 200 litres, which was fit for distillation of 3 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7370 of 2025 Dated 23.07.2025 ID liquor. In the presence of the mediator, a 500 ml sample was drawn for chemical analysis, and the remaining wash, along with the drums, was destroyed. An identity slip was affixed to the sample bottle. The mediator further confirmed the absconding person as Pasala Sathibabu @ Spider Man/petitioner/Accused herein, who had previously been involved in ID liquor cases. All actions were recorded under the cover of the mediator’s report, a case was registered. 3. Sri Kadiyam Neelakanteswara Rao, the learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the petitioner has not committed any offence; he was falsely implicated in this case; he is sole breadwinner of his family; he is ready to abide any conditions to be imposed by this Court, and it is urged to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner/Accused. 4. Per contra, Ms.P.Akila Naidu, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, opposed in granting of pre-arrest bail stating that investigation is not completed; if the petitioner is enlarged on pre-arrest bail, he would not be available for the investigation and he will repeat the same offence, and it is urged to dismiss the bail application. 5. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. 4 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7370 of 2025 Dated 23.07.2025 6. As seen from the mediator’s report dated 29.05.2025, the Prohibition and Excise Inspector, Rajamahendravaram South, recorded that the accused gave a confessional statement about 2,800 litres of FJ Wash. The accused further revealed that the petitioner is the supplier of ID Liquor. Granting of the pre-arrest bail to an accused is not a shield or protection for having committed an offence as per the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Panjab1 and Sushila Aggarwal v. State of Delhi2. 7. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there are nine (09) adverse similar antecedents against the petitioner on earlier occasion. They are: Crime No.60 of 2025, Crime No. 63 of 2025, Crime No.218 of 2025, Crime No.285 of 2025 Crime No.287 of 2025, Crime No.311 of 2025, Crime No.34 of 2022, Crime No.280 of 2022 and Crime No.644 of 2022. 8. In view of the adverse antecedents against the petitioner and his specific role played in this case, he is disentitled to get pre-arrest bail. Hence, this Court does not deem it fit to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner. However, the learned counsel for the petitioner requests this 1(1980) 2 SCC 565 2(2020) 5 SCC 1 5 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7370 of 2025 Dated 23.07.2025 Court to grant liberty to the petitioner to surrender before the learned jurisdictional Magistrate concerned and move an appropriate application for his release before the learned Magistrate concerned. 9. In the result, the Criminal Petition is dismissed granting liberty to the petitioner to surrender before the learned jurisdictional Magistrate concerned within one (01) week from the date of receipt of copy of this order, and move an appropriate application before the learned Magistrate for enlarging him on bail. The learned Magistrate shall endeavor to dispose of the application on its own merits in accordance with law by giving due and sufficient opportunity of hearing to the learned Public Prosecutor before the learned Magistrate and pass appropriate orders within a reasonable time, preferably in two (02) days. _________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Date: 23.07.2025 RSI 6 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7370 of 2025 Dated 23.07.2025 181 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.7370 of 2025 Date:23.07.2025 RSI