~. +-._-_-i,=z- •t lN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT =a a MONDAY, THE EIGHTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE :PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 8933 OF 2025 Between : 1. Baddipudi Krishna, S/o. Baddipudi, aged about 37 years, Kammavaripalem, Jaladanki Mandal, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh. 2. Chitte{i Penchulaiah, S/o. Late Chin'na Penchulaiah, aged 34 years, SanganapaIIi Village, Dakkili Mandal, Tirupai District, Andhra Pradesh. ...Petitioner/Accused No.8 & 9 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, at Amaravati through Station Hoirse Officer, Varadaiahpalem P.S., Tirupati, Chittoor District. ...Respondent/Complainant Petition under Section 480 & 483 of BNSS is filed, praying that in the circumstances stated in the memorandum of grounds filed in support of the Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to release the Petitioners/ Accused No. 8 and 9 on Bail in connection with Cr. No.68/2O25 of Varadaiahpalem Police Station, Tirupati, Chittoor District. The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petition and the memorandum of grounds filed in support and upon hearing the arguments of SRI SRINIVASU L Advocate for the Petitioners, and of PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for Respondent, and the court made the following ORDER: < ` ORDER: This criminal petl-tI-On has been filed under Sections 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking to enlarge the petitI-OnerS- accused Nos. 8 and 9 on bail in crime No. 68 of 2025 of Varadaiahpalem Police Station, Tirupati District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 329 (3) and 303 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Section 20 (1) (d) (i) read with Section 20 (i) (C) (ii) (iii) (iv) (ix) (x) of A.P. Forest (Amendment) Act, 2016, Section 55 (2) read-with Sections 3, 4 and 6 of Bio- Diversity Act, 2002, and Section 3 (1 ) of Red Sander Wood Transit Rules. 2. Case of the prosecution is that on 23-07-2025 at about 5.30 a.m. in front of RTC Bus Stand, on Srikalahasti-Tada Main Road, on credible information, the Sub Inspector of Police, Varadaiahpalem Police Station, along with his staff and mediators found accused Nos. 1 and 8 to 10 while they were transporting ll logs of Red Sander Wood, weighing about 211 K.Gs. Thereafter, the police arrested accused Nos.1 and 8 to 10 and remanded them to J'udiCial Custody. 3. Sri L.Srinivasu, learned counsel for the petitioners, contends that the pe{I|{iOnerS are .innOCentS Of the alleged offences and have been falsely implicated by the police. lt is further submitted that the petitioners are the sole earning members,of their families and, therefore, their continued incarceration would cause undue hardship to their dependents. The petitioners undertake to strictly ac!here to any conditions that may be imposed by this court. ln light of the foregoing, learned counsel prays that the present petition be allowed in the interest of justice. 4. Per confra, Ms. Akhila Naidu, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, vehemently opposed the grant of bail to the petitioners, submitting that the investigation is still underway and several material witnesses remain to be examined. It is contended that if the petitioners are released on bail a{ this stage, there is a strong likelihood that they may abscond, thereby hampering the ongoing investigation and evading the process of law. In view of the foregoing, i{ is urged that the petition be dismissed. 5. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Assistant Public prosecutor. p;rused the record. 6. As per the case of prosecution, the allegation against the pe{i{ioner- accused No. 8 is that he is the owner of the vehicle in which ll logs of Red Sander Wood, weighing about 211 K.Gs., were allegedly transported. The petitioner-accused No. 9 is the helper of accused No. 8. They were arrested on 23-07-2025. They have been in judicial custody for the past 47 days. AIthough learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there is one adverse antecedent ,-.e. crime No. 5 of 2025 reported with similar allegations against the peti:tioners, the petitioners arelpresumed to be innocents in crime No. 5 of 2025 till the guilt is proved. The petitioner-accused No. 8 is permanent resident of Kammavaripalem, Jaladanki Mandal, Nellore District, anc! the petitioner-accusec! No. 9 is permanent resiciemt of SanganapaIIi \. Village, Dakkili Mandal, Tirupati District. So far, seven witnesses have been examined and they are official wI-tneSSeS. Therefore, the chances of the petitioners threatening the official wI'tneSSeS Or hampering the investigation may not arise. seven witnesses are material witnesses. Therefore, the prime portion Of the investigation is completed. 7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature and gravity of the allegations levelled against the petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 and their alleged role, this Court is inclined to enlarge them on baI'l With the following stringent conditions: (i) The petitl'oners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 shall be enlarged on bail subject to their executing each a bond for a sum of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees twenty five thousand only) with two sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of learned Judge, Special Court for trial of Cases relating to Red Sanders Smuggling, Tirupati; (ill) The petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 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 learned the trial Court; (iil') The petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 shall not leave the limits of the district without prior permI-SSiOn from the jnvestigatI'ng officer until the charge sheet is fI'Ied,- \ (iv) The petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence in future; (v) The petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigation of the case and shall make themselves available for interrogation by the investigating officer as and when required; (vi) The petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 shall not, directly or indirectI.y, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted wI'th 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 petitioners-accused Nos. 8 and 9 shall surrender their passports, if any, to the investigating officer. If they claim that they do not have passport, they shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the investigating officer. 8. The criminal petition is.accordingly allowed. ri- //TRUE COPY// SD/-G.HELANAIDjl For/ . \, To] 1. The Station House Officer, Varadaiahpalem P.S., Tirupati, Chittoor District. 2. The Judge, SpI. Court for trial of cases relating to Red Sanders smuggling, Tirupati. 3. The Superintendent, Sub Jail, Tirupati. 4. One CC to SRl. SRINIVASU L, Advocate [OPUC] 5. Two CCs to PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. [OPUC] 6. One spare copy KN ® Ji, -H-lG,H COURT I.I / r '`DRIYLR,J DATED : 08/09/2025 ORDER CRLP.No.8933 of 2025 ALLOWED i- .+.`' `y..