[3521 ] IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI SATURDAY, THE THIRTIETH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE • PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 8578 OF 2025 Between: Renju R.A, S/o Anandan, aged 46 Bidiya Village. Aluva Taluk, Cochi District panchayat Konhi Taluka, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala State. Petitioner/Accused No.1 years. Welding Work, R/o Maligam N/o Thannothod Village and AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep by its Public Prosecutor Andhra Pradesh at Amaravathi. High Court of Respondent Petition under Sections 480 & 483 of BNSS (Old Sections 437 & 439 of ‘ Cr.P.C), praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support Of the Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to release the Petitioner / Accused No.1 on bail in connection with Crime No.13 / 2025 dated: 06.07.2025 Under Sections 20 (b) (ii) (B) 25 r/w 8(c) NDPS Act on the We of Gudemkothaveedi (G.K.) Police Station. Alluri Sitharama Raju District. The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the Petition and grounds filed in support thereof and i KOMALAN, Advocate for the Petitioner and of Respondent and the Court made the following; the upon hearing the arguments of Sri K K PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the ORDER This Criminal Petition has been filed under Sections 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking to enlarge the petitioner- accused No. 1 on bail in crime No. 13 of 2025 of Gudem Kothaveedi Station, Alluri Sitharama Raju District, registered for the offence under Section 20 (b) (ii) (B) read with Section 8 (c) of the Narcotic Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Police punishable Drugs and 2. Case of the prosecution is that on 06-07-2025 at 5 p.m. Village Junction, G.K. Veedhi Panchayat and Mandal the Sub Inspector of Police along with his staff and petitioner in possession of 13.220 K.Gs. of Ganja. near Derala on credible information. mediators found the Thereafter, the police seized the contraband, arrested the petitioner and remanded him to judicial custody. 3. Sri K.K.Komalan, learned counsel for the petitioner, contends that the petitioner is innocent of the alleged offence and has been falsely implicated by the police. It is further submitted that the petitioner is the sole earning member of the family and, therefore, his continued incarceration would cause undue hardship to his dependents. The petitioner undertakes to strictly adhere to any conditions that may be imposed by this Court. In light of the foregoing, learned counsel prays that the present petition be allowed in the interest of justice. 3 Per contra, Ms. Akhila Naidu, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, 4. vehemently opposed the grant of bail to the petitioner, submitting that the investigation is still underway and several material witnesses remain to be examined. It is contended that if the petitioner is released on bail at this stage there is a strong likelihood that he may abscond, thereby hampering the ongoing investigation and evading the process of law. In view of the foregoing. it is urged that the petition be dismissed. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Assistant Public 5. Prosecutor. Perused the record. As seen from the record, the petitioner-accused No. 1 was allegedly 6. indulged in dealing with 13.220 K.Gs. of Ganja which is not a commercial quantity. The petitioner was arrested on 06-07-2025. He has been in judicial custody for the past 56 days. The petitioner is permanent resident of Maligam Bidiya Village, Aluva Taluk, Kochi District, Kerala State. Although learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there is one adverse antecedent reported against the petitioner, the petitioner shall be presumed to be innocent until the guilt is proved. Material portion of the investigation is completed. All the witnesses are official witnesses. Hence, chances of the petitioner threatening the witnesses or hampering the investigation or tampering the evidence may not arise. 4 7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature and gravity of the allegations levelled against the petitioner-accus ed No. 1 and his period of judicial detention, this Court is inclined to enlarge the petitioner- accused No. 1on bail with the following stringent conditions: (i) The petitioner-accused No. 1 shall be enlarged on bail subject to his executing a bond for a sum of Rs.20,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand) with two sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of learned Additional Judicial I Class Magistrate, Chinthapalli; (ii) The petitioner-accused No. 1 shall appear before the Station House Officer concerned on every Saturday in between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. till cognizance is taken by the learned the Trial Court; (iii) The petitioner-accused No. 1 shall not leave the limits of the district without prior permission from the investigating officer until the charge sheet is filed; (iv) The petitioner-accused No.1 shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence in future; (V) The petitioner-accused No.1 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; \ 5 The petitioner-accused No. 1 shall not, directly or indirectly, (Vi) make any inducement, threat or promise to 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 officer; and The petitioner-accused No. 1 shall surrender his passport, if any. (vii) to the investigating officer. If he claims that he does not have a passport, he shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the investigating officer. The criminal petition is accordingly allowed. 8. Sd/- K.TATA RAO DEPUTY REGISTRAR //TRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER F i To, 1. The Judicial First Class Magistrage, Chintapalli. 2. The Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate, Chinthapalli 3. The Superintendent, Central Prison, Visakhapatnam 4. The Station House Officer, Gudemkothaveedi (G.K.) Police Station Alluri Sitharama Raju District 5. One CC to SRI. K K KOMALAN Advocate [OPUC] 6. Two CCs to Public Prosecutor, High Court of AP [OUT] 7. One spare copy KJ HIGH COURT DR.YLR,J DATED:30/08/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No.8578 of 2025 ALLOWED ■ vill