lN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVAT THURSDAY, THE TWENTY EIGHTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE :PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7691 OF 2025 # -i Betwee n : 1. Sobha Bheemanna, S/a. Gangadhar, aged about 29 years, R/o. Rangilisl'ngi Village, Dare!a Post, Munch-lngiput Mandal, AIluri Sitharama Raju District, Presently resicling at SF-5, Block No.41, Y.S.R. Colony, Marikavalasa, Madhurawada,`Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam District 2. Sravan Ram Goundi, S/o. Late Ram, aged about 60 years, R/o. IDPL, Kukatpalli, Hyderabad, Telangana State. ...Petitioners/Accused No.1, 2 AND The State ofAndhra PradeSh, Rep by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh ...Respondenfi Petition under sectI'OnS 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C/ Under Sections 480 & 483 of BNSS, prayI-ng that in the circumstances stated I-n the memorandum Of grounds filed in support of the criminal Petition, the Hl-gh Court may be Pleased tO enlarge the Petitioners/Accused No.1, 2 on bail pending disposal of Crime No.45/2025 of Anandapuram P,S., Visakhapatnam District. The Petition coming on `for hearing, upon perusing the petI'tiOn and the memorandum of grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of SRI ADAPA SUDHA_KAR RAO Advocate for the petitioners, and of PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, for the Respondent, the court made the following ` I. - Ei '. -_i \ Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7691 of 2025 Dclted 28.08.2O25 The Court made the followI-ng.- ORDER: The Criminal petitl'on has been filed under sections 437 and 439 of the code of crjml|nal procedure,1973 (for brevity {the cr.p.c.I)/ sect['ons 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik suraksha sanhita, 2023 (for brevl'ty {the BNSS'), seeking to enlarge the petI.tjOners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 on bail jn Cr.No,45 of 2025 of Anandapuram polI|Ce Station, visakhapatnam commjssjonerate, regI-S{ered agal'nst the petitl-oners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 here['n for the offences punI[Shable under section 20(b)(ji)(C) read with 8 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and psychotropI'C Substances Act,1985 (for brevity [the NDPS Act'). 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 25.02.2025, on receipt of credible information regarding illegal possession and transportation of ganJ®a, the Sub-Inspector of police, Anandapuram poll-Ce Station, along with his staff and med[|ators, rushed to NH-16 near Bheemj[j cross Road Junctl-on and conducted vehicle checking. The police noticed one auto coming from the Anandapuram sI-de towards P.M. Palem, and on seeI'ng the police, the persons jn the auto attempted to escape. The poll'ce apprehended three persons who were jn the auto. During I-nVeStI-gatiOn, Accused Mos.1 to 3 disclosed theI'r address particulars and, basing on their \. =,a E5EgBEEF-±=z:=:5E7' Dr. YLR, I CrI.P.No.7691 of 2O25 Dclted 28.08.2025 confession statements, 26 Kgs of ganJ-a Was Seized under the cover Of a mediatorsl report. 3. Sri Adapa Sudhakar Rao, the learned counsel for the petitioners contend 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. 'n light of the foregoing submissions, learned counsel prays that the present petition be allowed in the interest of justice. 4. Per confra, Ms.P.Akhila Naidu, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor vehemently opposed the grant of bail to the petitioners, submitting that the investigation is still undervay 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. ln view of the foregoing submissions, it is urged that the petition be dismissed. 5. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. Dr. YLR, J Crl.P-No.7691 of 2025 Dclted 28.08.2025 As seen from the record, the petI|tl-Oners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 were allegedly indulged I|n dealI-ng with 26.00 kgs of ganJ'a, Which I|S a commercI|al quantity. The petI|tiOners have been languishing l'n ja" since 25.02.2025. Nearly for the past 184 days they have been in J'udjCjal custody. The petitI-Oner/Accused No.1 is a resident of Marl-kavalasa, Madhurawada, vjsakhapatnam, vl'sakhapatnam District. The petjt]oner/Accused No.2 js the res]dent of lDPL, Kukatpa" Hyderabad, Telangana state. The mater]-al po~rt]-on of the I-nvestigatjon js completed. A" the witnesses of the prosecution are official w[-tnesses. Hence, the question of the petI-tiOners influencing or threatening the witnesses or hampering the investigation may not arI-Se. 7. The learned AssI|Stant Public prosecutor submits that there are no adverse antecedents against the pet,I+lioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 and no report was filed before the learned court below by the learned public prosecutor concerned seeking for extensI-On p.erI'Od of judicI-al Custody of the petl't['oners upto one year by jndI-Call-ng the progress of I-nVeStjgation and the specI'fiC reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the I-nitI'a[ period- 8. SectI-On 36A(4) of fthe NDPS Act' states that if the I-nVeStigatl'on is not completed within 180 days, the petI'tI-Oners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 has an indefeasI'ble nlght to bail, unless the specl'al,court extends the period up to . ' -I Tf-:--:::ar~-~x--a._ --. . Dr. YLR, I CrI.P.No.7691 of 2025 Dclted 28.08.2025 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. 9. Considering the period of detention undergone by -the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 i.n judicial custody for the past 184 days, the nature and gravity of allegations levelled against the petitioners, and their alleged role played in the Gas.e, this Court is inclined to enlarge the petitioners on bail with the following stringent conditions: I-. The petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 shall be enlarged on bail subject to they executing a bond for a sum of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only), each with two sureties each for the like sum each to tr:e-satisfaction of the learned xv AdditI-Onal Metropolitan Magistrate at Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam City. ii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 shall appear before the Station House Officer concerned on every Saturday in between 10.-00 am and 05:00 pm, till cognizance is taken by the learned the Trial Court. I'ii. The petitioners/Accusec! Nos.1 and 2 shall not leave the limits of the District without prior permission from the station House Officer concerned. Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7691 of 2025 Dated 28.08.2025 iv. The petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence I'n future. v. The petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigatI|On Of the Case and shall make themselves available for interrogation by the investigating officer as and when requI'red. vi. The petitI'OnerS/Accused Nos.1 and 2 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 hI'm/her from dl-SCIOSing Such facts tO the COurt Or tO any POliCe officer- 10. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. SD/- K.J. ASS[STAN To, TR#ATBR¥ TRAR //TRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER I 1. The I Additional DI'StrI'Ct & Sessions Judge-Gum-Special Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam. 2. The XV Additional MetropolI-tan Magistrate at Bheemunipatnam., Visakhapatnam Dl-strict ,I, 3. The Superintendent, 9entraI` Jail, Visakhapatnam, visakhapatnam District 4. The StatI'On House offI'Cer, Anandapuram police StatI'On, Visakhapatnam District 5. OneCCto SRI.ADAPASUDHAKAR RAOAdvocate [opucl rrty 6. Two CCs to PUBHC PROSECUTOR, High Court of Andhra Pradesh [OUT] E= E= + . ^ r+ e I,I, i •. ,ct_i `` HIGH COURT DR.YLR,J DATED:28/08/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No,7691 of 2025 ALLOWED