APHC010429232025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] THURSDAY, THE TWENTY EIGHTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 8614/2025 Between: 1. KARRI KARTHIK, S/O. SANYASI RAO, AGED ABOUT 21 YEARS, R/O. BENZ CIRCLE, YANAMALAKUDURU, VIJAYAWADA TOWN, N.T.R. DISTRICT, A.P. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: 1. GOLLAPALLI MAHESWARA RAO Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following: 2 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. 123 of 2025 of Vizianagaram Police Station, G.R.P. Vijayawada, registered for the offence punishable under Section 8 (c) read with Section 20 (b) (ii) (B) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. 2. Case of the prosecution is that on 18-07-2025 at 11.15 hours at South end of platform Nos. 2 and 3 of Parvathipuram Railway Station, the Sub Inspector of Police, Railway Protection Force, along with his staff and G.R.P. staff, while conducting platform checking and frisking of passengers, found the petitioner and one child in conflict with law in possession of 4.4 K.Gs. of Ganja. Thereafter, the police seized the contraband, arrested the petitioner and remanded him to judicial custody. 3. Sri G.Maheswara Rao, 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 4. Per contra, Ms. Akhila Naidu, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, 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. 5. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. 6. As seen from the record, the petitioner-accused No. 1 was allegedly dealing with 4.4 K.Gs. of Ganja. The petitioner-accused No. 1 was arrested on 18-07-2025 and he has been in judicial custody for the past 42 days. The petitioner is permanent resident of Yanamalakuduru, Vijayawada City. All the witnesses are official witnesses. Prime portion of the investigation is completed. Therefore, the petitioner may not have the chances of threatening the witnesses or tampering the evidence or hampering the investigation. 7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature and gravity of the allegations levelled against the petitioner-accused No. 1, this Court is inclined to enlarge him on 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 only) with two sureties for the like sum each to the 4 satisfaction of learned VI Additional Judicial Magistrate of I Class for Railways – cum – VI Additional Junior Civil Judge, Visakhapatnam; (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; (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; (vi) The petitioner-accused No. 1 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 him/her from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer; and (vii) The petitioner-accused No. 1 shall surrender his passport, if any, to the investigating officer. If he claims that he does not have a 5 passport, he shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the investigating officer. 8. The criminal petition is accordingly allowed. _________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Date: 28.08.2025 JSK 6 THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No. 8614 OF 2025 Date: 28.08.2025 JSK