IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI f# TUESDAY, THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE :PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE YI LAKSHMANA RA CRIMINALPETITION NO: 9361 OF2025 % Between : ` ``n-3ti;.::¥:/_r`. Pangi Vinod, S/o. Late Kandra, aged about 40 years, R/o. Kotagummalu Village, Kudumusara Panchayat, Chinthapa]Ii Mandal, Alluri Sitharama Raju District, A.P. ...Petitioner/Accused No.1 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. ...Respondent Petition under Section 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C and Section 480 & 483 of BNSS, 2023 is filed praying that in the circumstances stated in the memorandum of grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to enlarge the Petitioner/Accused No.1 on bail pending disposal of Crime No.237/2021 of V. Madugula P.S., now Anakapalli District; The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petition and the memorandum of grounds of criminal petition and u`pon hearing the arguments of Srj Balabhadruni Manohar, Advocate for the petitioner and Public Prosecutor for the Respondent, the Court made the following; off / _,Z )¢ I ___ _ I fI * I. _,7 + Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No.9361 of 2025 Dated 16.09.2025 The Court made the following: 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 {the BNSS'), seeking to enlarge the petitioner/Accused No.1 on bail in Cr.No.237 of 2021 of V.Madugula Police Station, Visakhapatnam District, regi.stered against the petitioner/Accused No.1 herein for the offences punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic I Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,1985 (for brevity [the NDPS Act'). CASE OF THE PROSECUTION: 2. On 28.08.2021, at about 17:30 hours, on the outskirts of Garikibandha Village, V. Madugula Mandal, and reported on the same day at 19:00 hours by the complainant, the child in conflict with law, noted in Column No.3, was apprehended and taken into custody. On search, one iron box and a college bag were seized. The iron box contained four packets of ganja, each weighing 5 KGs (total 20 KGs), and the college bag contained one packet of ganja weighing 6 KGs, making a total of 26 KGs of ganja, valued at Rs.52,000/-. One Vivo Android mobile phone was also seized while the accused was coming from Paderu towards E= r/ i _ ________ _F=tH+J=1 |u .I 3 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No_9361 of 2025 Dated 16.09.2025 visakhapatnam. Thereafter, the police seized the contraband, arrested the accused, and remanded him to judicial custody. CONTENTIONS OF LEARNED COUNSEL FOR THE PETITIONER: 3. Sri Balabhadruni Manohar, learned counsel for the Petitioner, Submits that the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the alleged offence, without any -cogent evidence linking to the commission Of the crime. It is contended that the petitioner is the SOle breadwinner Of his family and his arrest would cause undue hardship and Prejudice tO the dependents of the petitioner. The petitioner undertakes tO abide by any condition that this court may impose while granting bail to the petitioner. 4. lt is further submitted that the Petitioner has Permanent Place Of res-ldence and there is no likelihood of him absconding or evading the .-Jt.. I , process of law. The petitioner has cooperated With the investigation tffjuS far and assures continued cooperat'lon in future proceedings. lt is also urged that the allegat-Ions are of a nature that do not warrant custodial interrogation, and if any condition is imposed while granting the bail, the petitioner would not violate it; and it is urged to allow the Petition. ARGUMENTS OF THE STATE: 5. Per contra, Ms.Akhila Naidu, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, strenuously opposed the grant of bail, contending that the investigation is i ``'* l\<iis.- '' \ - =|` || 4 Dr. YLR, J CrI.P.No.9361 of 2025 Dated 16.09.2025 still underway and several material witnesses are yet to be examined. lt is submitted that enlargement of the petitioner on bail at this stage would seriously hamper the progress of the investigation and may result in non- cooperation from the petitioner. The prosecution further apprehends that the petitioner, if released, may influence or intjmida{e witnesses, thereby obstructing the course.of justice. It is also urged that there exists a real and imminent risk of the petl'tioner absconding and evading the due process of law. Given the gravity of the allegations and the potential threat to the integrity of the investigation, it is submitted that the petitioner does not deserve the discretionary relief of bail and it is urged to dismiss the bail petition. . 6. Thoughtful consideration is bestowed on the arguments advanced by learned counsel for both sides. I have perused the entire record. POINT FOR CONSIDERATION: 7. ln the light of the case of the prosecution and the contentions of learned counsel for both sides, now the point for consideration is: "Whether the petitioner/Accused No.1 is entitled for grant of bail?" ANALYSIS: 8. The petitioner/Accused No.1 was arrested on 30.07.2025 and has been in judicial custody for the past 46 days. No contraband was seized ?i--.I f ..,.I,ch C: - a- I 5 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.9361 of 2025 Dated 16_09.2025 from his possession. ln fact, on 28.a.8.2021, 26 KGs of ganja were seized from the possession of a child in confI-lct with law (COL). After thorough investigation, a charge sheet has been filed. The case pertains to the year 2021. AIthough the learned Assistant Public Prosecu{6r submits that severe allegations are levelled against the petitioner, alleging that he supplied the contraband, and that one adverse antecedent under the .!- provisions of lthe NDPS Act' is reported against himrf. The i `+~..f petitioner/Accused No.1 is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. ln prabhakar Tiwari v. State of U.P. and others1, the Hon'ble Apex Court has categorically held that criminal antecedents should not be taken into consideration while considering the application for grant of bail. The petitioner/Accused No.1 is permanent resident of KQtagummalu Village, Kudumusara Panchayat, Chinthapalli MandaI, ASR District. ln view of the filing of the charge sheet, the possibility of the petjt-IOner threatening witnesses, tampering with evidence, or hampering the investigation does not arise. CONCLUSION: 9. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature and gravity of allegations levelled against the petitioner, this Court is 1 2020 (ll) SCC 648 L_ _I_ |\1 I| 6 Dr_ YLR, J CrI.P.No.9361 of 2025 Dated 16.09.2025 inclined to enlarge the petitioner/Accused No.1 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.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) with two sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of learned I Additional District and Sessions Judge-Gum- Special Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam; (ii) The petitioner/Accused No.1 shall appear before the learned Trial Court concerned on each and every adjournment; (iii) The petitioner/Accused No.1 shall not leave the limits of the District without prior permission from the learned Trial Court; (iv) The petitioner/Accused No.1 shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence in future; (v) The petitioner/Accus-`ed 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 > A,-. Fas±isS --, ±,rut l® 7 Dr_ YLR, J Crl.P.No.9361 of 2025 Dated 16.O9.2025 to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer; and (vi) The petitioner/Accused No.1 shall surrender his passport, if any, to the investigating officer. lf he claims that he does not have a passport, he shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the Investigating OffI'Cer. 10. The Criminal Petition is accordingly allowed. SD/-K.J.RAJA BABU //TRUE COPY// For ASSiSTA SECTI GISTRAR To, 1. The I Additional Dl-strict & Sessions Judge-Gum-Spl Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam. 2. The Station House Officer, V.Madugula Police Station, now Anakapalli District. 3. One CC to Sri. Balabhadruni Manohar, Advocate [OPUC] 4. Two CCsto Public Prosecutor, High CourtofAP [OUT] frJf 5. One spare copy MM lt== / E= EE= f, HIGH COURT Dr.YLR,J DATED:16/09/2025 ORDER CRLP.No.9361 of 2025 ALLOWED faNE5 lALCl