IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVA THURSDAY, THE TWENTY EIGHTH DAY OF AUGUSTte# TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE b3grJf :PRESENT: LfJ rf,- THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO Bhaatrfar_ CRIIV[INAL PET!T[ON NO: 7591 OF 2025toquct,';#+- Between : RE|il Gujjela Rambabu, S/o Ramachandra, aged 33 years R/o Kondibha Village, Ananthagiri MandaI, ASR District ...Petitioner/A3 tcrfgr AND The State: SHO Anandapuram Police Sffi-ion, visakhapatnam city Thorough its Public Prosecutor, High Court ofA.P., Amaravathi l#rfr ...RespondenHE b= E= petition under sections 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C & Under Sections 480 & 483 of BNSS praying that irl She circumstances stated in the memorandum of grounds filed in support of the criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to release the Petitioner/A3 on bail in connection wl-th Crime No¥5 of 2025iv~~o-f Anandapuram P®I§r.e Station, Visakhapatnam Commissionerate, Visakhapatnam District. tsgivgd# EEEEI _*. , ...,3=vift The PetI-lion coming On for hearing, upon perusing the Petition and the I memorandum of grc)unds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the! ELEEii= arguments of SRI VENKATA' DURGA RAO ANANTHA Advocate for the Petitioner, and of PUBHC PROSECUTOR, for the Respondent, the Court rf made the following Dr. YLR, I CrI.P.No.7591 of 2025 Dated 28.08.2025 The Court made the following: ORDER: The CrI'minal Petition has been filed under Sections 437- and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 (for brevity [the Cr.P.C.I)/ Sections 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity fthe' BNSS')7 Seeking tO enlarge the Peti{iQner/Accused No.3 on bail in Cr.No.,45 of 2025 of Anandapuram Police Station, Visakhapatnam -Commissionerate, registered against the petitioner/Accused No,3 herein for the offences punishable under se;lion 20(b)(ii)(C) read with 8 (c) of the Narcotic' Drugs and Psycho{ropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity lthe NDPS Act'). 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 25.02.2025, on receipt of credible information regarding illegal possess'lon and transportation of ganja, the Sub-Inspector of Police, Anandapuram Police Station, along with his staff and mediators, rushed to NH-16 near Bheemili Cross Road Junction and conducted vehicle checking. The police noticed one auto coming from the Anandapuram side towards P.M, Palem, and on seeing the police, the persons in the auto attempted to escape. The police apprehended three persons who were in the auto. During investigation, Accused Nos.1 to 3 disclosed their address particulars and, basing on their Dhr YLR, I crI.P.No-7591 of 2025 Dated 28.d8.2025 confessl'on statements, 26 Kgs of ganja was seized under the mediatorsJ report. 3. Sri A.Venkata Durga Rao, the learned counsel for the peti contends that the petitioner is innocent of the alleged offence and has falsely implicated by the police. It ILs further submitted that the petI'tiOher iS the sole earning member of the family and, therefore, his incarceration would cause undue hardship to his dependents. The petitioner undendakes to strictly adhere to any conditions that may be imposed by this coulr{. ln I 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 N€.idu, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor vehemently opposed the grant of bail to the petiti6ner, submitting that the investigation is still underway and several witnesses remain to be examined. It is contended that if the petitionFr is released on bail at this stage, there is a strong likelihood that he llmay I abscond, thereby hampering the ongoing investigation and evading: the process of law. In view of the foregoing submlssions, It iS urged thai the petition be dismI-SSed. 1 5. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the [ea[ned AssIStant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record I Dr. YLR, I Crl.P.No.7591 of 2025 Dated 28.08.2025 6. As seen from the record, the petitl'oner/Accused No.3 was allegedly indulged in dealing with 26.00 kgs of ganja, which is a commercial quantity. The petitioner has been languishing in jail since 25.02.2025. Nearly for the past 184 days he has been in judicial custody. The petitioner was driving the auto in which the contraband was found and seized. He was spot arrested. The petitioner/Accused No.3 is a resident of Kondibha Village, Ananthagiri Mandal, ASR District. The material portion of the investigation is completed. All the witnesses of the prosecution are official witnesses. Hence, the question of the petitioner influencing or threatening the witnesses or hamperI-ng the investigation may not arise. 7. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there are no adverse antecedents against the petitioner/Accused No.3 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 investigation and the specific reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the initial period. 8. Section 36A(4) of.'the NDPS Act' states that if the investigation is not completed within 180 days, the petitioner/Accused No.3 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 -------- ri*-.^ ,, , jREiS. Dr. YLR, J crI.P.No.7591 oflZO'25 Dated 28.08.l2025 the investigation and specific reasons for the detention of the accu beyond the initial period. 9. Considering the period of detention undergone by petitioner/Accused No.3 in judicial custody for the past 184 days, nature and gravity of allegations levelled against the petitioner, and alleged role played in the case, this Court is inclined to enlarge petitioner on bail with the fo][owing stringent conditions: i. The petitioner/Accused No.3 shall be enlarged on bail subject to he executing a bond for a sum of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) with two sureties for the like suin each to the satisfaction of the learned XV Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at Bheemunipatnam, Visakhapatnam City. ii. The petitioner/Accused No.3 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. jii. The petitioner/Accused No.3 shall not leave the limits of the District without prior permission from the Station House Officer concerned. -_-.-----` the the his the Dr. YLR, I Crl.P.No.7591 of 2025 Dated 28.08.2O25 iv. The petitioner/Accused No.3 shall not commit or indulge in commission Qf any Offence in future. v. The petitioner/Accused No.3 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigation of the case and shall make himself available for interrogation by the investigating officer as and when required. vI'. The petitioner/Accused No.3 shall not, directly or I'ndireCtly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any Person acquainted With the facts Of the Case So as to dissuade him/her from dI-SCIosing such facts to the court or to any police offi ce r. 10. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. . //TRUE COPY// s d#sMslPsR:€AB:ITA3ff±RAO RAR SECTION OFFICER To, 1. The I Additional District & Sessions Judge-SpecI'al Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, VI-SakhaPatnam, Visakhapa{nam District 2. The XV Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at BheemunI'Patnam, Visakhapatnam District 3. The Superintendent, District Jail, Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam District 4. The Stall-On House Officer, Anandapuram Police Station, Visakhapatnam Commissionerate, Visakhapatnam District 5. One CC to SRI. VENKATA DURGA RAO ANANTHA Advocate [OPUC] 6. Two CCs to PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, High Court of Andhra Pradesh [OUT] 7. Onesparecopy < PSR \\ - .I + | I+.`+ i a t -'\ HIGH COURT DR.YLR,J DATED :28/08/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No.7591 of 2025 ALLOWED Jd#*5`,:; -