APHC010358922025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI QMS THURSDAY, THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7421 OF 2025 Between: Veluganti Ganga Raju, S/o. Venkataramana, Aged about 25 years, R/o. Raghunadhapuram Village, Rajanagaram (Mandal), East Godavari District. ...Petitioner/A2 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravathi. ...Respondent Petition under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 (Sec. 438 Cr.P.C.) praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to enlarge the petitioner on bail in the event of his arrest in Crime No.216 of 2025 dated: 26.11.2024, on Rajamahendravaram South, East Godavari District. the file of the Proh. & Excise Station Counsel for the Petitioner: SRI KADIYAM NEELAKANTESWARA RAO Counsel for the Respondent: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following ORDER: APHC010358922025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] THURSDAY,THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7421/2025 Between; VELUGANTI GANGA RAJU, S/0. VENKATARAMANA, AGED ABOUT 25 YEARS, R/0. RAGHUNADHAPURAM VILLAGE, RAJANAGARAM (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 Petition under Section 437/438/439/482 of Cr.P.C and 528 of BNSS praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Courtmay be pleased to enlarge the petitioner on bail in the event of his arrest in Crime No.216 OF 2025 dated: 26.11.2024 the file of the Proh. & Excise Station Rajamahendravaram South, East Godavari District and pass Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: 1.KADIYAM NEELAKANTESWARA RAO Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1.PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following: on 2 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 No.2 for granting of pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No.216 of 2025 of Prohibition & Excise Station, East Godavari District, registered for the alleged offences punishable under Section 7-B read with 8 (C) of the Andhra Pradesh Prohibition Act, 2020. 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 17.04.2025, as per the instructions of the Assistant Commissioner, Prohibition and Excise Superintendent & Assistant Superintendent, Prohibition and Excise Rajamahendravaram, along with their staff, conducted a raid for Prohibition Offences at Back side of Gopi gari boru between Bamboo trees and Cashew mango trees in Raghunadhapuram village of Rajanagaram Mandal and found 1000 liters of FJ wash in five (05) white coloured plastic drums, each drum containing about 200 liters of FJ Wash, which was fit for distillation of ID Liquor. When the police enquired the coolies working there, they revealed that the FJ Wash drums belongs to the accused Nos.1 to 3. Then they have seized the contraband and registered a case in Crime No.216 of 2025 of Prohibition & Excise Station, East Godavari District. 3. Sri K.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 the sole breadwinner of his family; he is 3 ready to abide any conditions to be innposed by this Court; and urged to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner/Accused. Per contra, Ms. P.Akila Naidu, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, opposed in granting of bail stating that investigation is not yet completed; if the petitioner is granted pre-arrest bail, he will repeat the same offence, and urged to dismiss the bail petition. Perused the record. 4. 5. 6. As seen from the record, the mediator’s report dated 17.04.2025, the prohibition and excise, Sub-Inspector recorded that the accused gave a confessional statement about 1000 litres of FJ Wash. The accused further revealed that the petitioner is the supplier of ID Liquor. 7. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there are 5 adverse similar antecedents against the petitioner on earlier occasion. They are Crime No.35 of 2025, Crime No.73 of 2025, Crime No.110 of 2025, Crime No.545 of 2024 and Crime No.110 of 2023. Granting of the pre-arrest bail to any person involved in the offence is not a blanket protection shield against all accusations, and it cannot be claimed as a matter of right as per the judgments of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Panjab^ and Sushila Aggarwal v. State of Delhi2. 1(1980) 2 see 565 ^ (2020) 5 see 1 In view of the adverse antecedents against the petitioner and his specific role placed 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 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 Special Court concerned. In the result, the Criminal Petition is disposed of granting liberty to the petitioner/Accused No.2 to surrender before the learned jurisdictional Magistrate concerned and move an appropriate application before the learned Judicial Magistrate concerned for enlarging him on bail. The learned Judicial Magistrate concerned endeavour 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 Special Court and pass appropriate orders within a reasonable time, preferably in two (02) days from the date of filing of bail application. 8. 9. Sd/- K SRINIVASA RAJU ASSISTANT REGISTRAR //TRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER To, 1. The Station House Officer, Proh. & Excise Station Rajamahendravaram South, East Godavari District. *% 2. One CC to Sri. Kadiyam Neelakanteswara Rao, Advocate [OPUC] 3. Two CCs to Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati. [OUT] 4. Two CD Copies Chp vna m HIGH COURT DATED:24/07/2025 ^^FANDi^ ORDER CRLP NO. 7421 OF 2025 31 ni: im % p> ^ Current Section ■■t- DISPOSING OF THE CRIMINAL PETITION