IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVA TUESDAY, THE SECOND DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE .I PRESENT.- THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PE"TION NO.- 7960 OF 2025 Between : 1. Sunkara Naresh, S/o.Venkateswara Rao, aged abt 32 years, R/o. Sunkara Veedhi, Guntapalli Village, Payakaraopeta Mandal, Chintapalli MandaI, AnankapalII'. 2. Palyala Prashanth, s/o.Nageswara Rao, aged abt 27 years, R/o.Guntapalli vI-llage, Payakaraopeta MandaI, Anakapalli. ...Petitioners/A5 & A8 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, SHO, Payakaraopet p.s., AnakapaIIi District, Represented by its public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati, Guntur Distrl'ct. ...Respondent Petition under sectI-OnS 480 & 483 of BNSS, 2023 of Cr.P.C(u/s 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C), is filed praying that in the circumstances stated in the grounds filed in support of the criminal Petition, the Hl'gh Court may be pleased to enlarge the petitioners on Regular Bail in respect to the crl-me No.42/2025 on the file of Payakaraopeta police station, Anakapalli DI-St. The petitI'On coming on for hearI-ng, upon Perusing the Petition and the grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of Sri Tinnavalli Venkata Manoj, Advocate for the petitioners and of public Prosecutor for Respondent, the court made the following Dr. YLR, I CrI.P.No.796O of 2025 Dated 02.09.2025 The Court made the fo[[owing: ORDER.. The Criminal 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'), seeking to enlarge the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 on bail in cr.No.42 of 2025 of Payakaraopet Police Station, Anakapalli District, registered against the Petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 herein for the offences punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C), 25 read with 8 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity [the NDPS Act]). 2. The case of the prosecution is that On 21.02.2025, on receipt of credible information regarding illegal possession and transportation of ganja, the sub-Inspector of Police, Payakaraopet Police Station, along with his staff and mediators, proceeded to Sudikonda Junction, on the outskirts of payakaraopeta, and conducted vehicle checking. The police noticed five persons in a Swift Dzire car acting in a suspicious manner. On seeing the police, the five persons attempted to escape, but were apprehended. During investigation, the accused confessed that they Were transporting the dry ganja for personal gain atld9tO Sell it in the market at higher prices. Thereupon, the police arrested the accused and, based On their - - l-- _.~ ~ +¢i=>:==zi; c±3-i+:i. =4:===::±=r I.. Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.7960 of 2025 Dated 02.09.2025 confessions, proceeded to other locations and apprehended other accused, i.e., Accused Nos.6 to 8, and seI'Zed 600 Kgs of ganja along with the mobile phones of the accused, under the cover of a mediators' report. 3. Mr. TI-nnaValli Venkat Manoj, the learned counsel for the petitioners contend that the petitioners are innocent of th6 alleged offence and have been falsely implicated by the police. It is further submitted that the petitI'OnerS are the sole earnl'ng 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. In light of the foregoing submissions, learned counsel prays that the present petitI'On be allowed in the interest OfjuStI'Ce. 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 underway and several material wI'tneSSeS remain tO be examined. lt iS contended that if the Petitioners are released on bail at this stage, there is a tstrong likelihood that they may abscond, thereby hampering the ongoing investigation anc] evading the Process Of law. In view of the foregoing submissions, I|t iS urged that the pe{I'tiOn be dismissed. cre ys.~.----:-;. 4 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No.7960 of 2025 Dated O2.09.2025 5. Heard the learned COunSel for the Petitioners and the learned Assistant Publ'lc Prosecutor. Perused the record. 6. As seen from the record, the Petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 were allegedly indulged in dealing with 600.00 kgs of ganja, which is not only a commercial quantity but also a colossal quantity. The petitioners have been languishing in jail since 21.02.2025. Nearly for the past 193 days they have been in judicial custody. The petitioner/Accused No.5 is a res-ldent of sunkara veedhi, Guntupalli Village, Payakaraopeta MandaI, Chintapalli Mandal, Anakapalli. The petitioner/Accused No.8 is the resident of Guntupalli Village, Payakaraopeta Mandal, Anakapalli District. The mater'laI portion of the investigation is completed. All the witnesses of the prosecution are official witnesses. Hence, the question of the petitioners influenc-lng or threaten-lng the witnesses or hampering the investigation may not arise. 7. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there are no adverse antecedents against the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8, and the report filed before the learned I Additional District and Sessions Judge, visakhapa{nam, by the learned Public Prosecutor concerned, seeking extension of the judic'lal custody of the petitioners, was dismissed on 30.08.2025. Dr. YLR, J CrI.p.No.7960 of 2025 Dated o2.09.2025 8. sections 36A(4) and 37 of {the NDPS Ac[J states that I-i the investigation is not completed with,'n 180 days, the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 has an indefeasible right to baH unless the special Court extends the period up to one year on the report of the public prosecutor, indjcatI'ng the progress of the jnvestjgation and specl'fic reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the initl'al period. 9. consjderI-ng the period of detention undergone by the petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 in judl-cial custody for the past 193 days, the nature and gravl'ty of allegatl|ons levelled against the petI-tI'Oners, and their alleged role played I-n the case, this court I'S jncII'ned to enlarge the petI-tiOners on ba" wI|{h the following stringent condI'tl-OnS.I i. The petl'tI'Oners/Accused Mos.5 and 8 shall be enlarged on bail subject to they executing a bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only), each w[-th two sureties each for the like sum each to the satI'SfaCtiOn Of the learned AddI'tI'OnaI JudI'CI-al Magistrate of FI'rSt Class, YelamanchiII'. ill. ill. The petI|tI'Oners/Accused Mos.5 and 8 sha".appear before the s{atjon House offI'Cer COnCerned on every Saturday in between 10.loo am and o5.loo pm, till cognI-ZanCe iS taken by the !earnecl the Trial Court. \\\ \. '\ 6 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No.796O of 2025 Dated 02.09.2O25 iii. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 shall not leave the limits of the District without prior Permission from the Station House Officer concerned. iv. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 shall not commitOr indulge in commission Of any Offence in future. v. The petit-lonerS/Accused Nos.5 and 8 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigation of the case and shall make themselves available for 'lnterrOgatiOn by the investigating officer as and when required. vi. The petitioners/Accused Nos.5 and 8 shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat Or Promise {O 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 10. offi cer. Accordingly, the Cr'lminal Petition is allowed. / //TRUE COPY// SD/-G.HELANAI_nut A S S:SETcAT:frj::::-EP`R: R Tol 1. The Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class at Yelamanchalli. 2. The I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam. 3. The Superintendent, Central Prison, Visakhapatnam. 4. The Station House Officer, Payakaraopeta Police Station, Anakapalli District. 5. One CC to Sri TinnavaIIi Venkata Manoj, Advocate [OPUC] A I. .,_ ^^_ I._ r`[ lr`[ [^ nri^f`r^l 'T^n ll I-_ ,_ A I A f` HIGH COURT DR.YLR,J DATE : 02/09/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No.7960 of 2025 ALLOWED