i+ lN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATl THURSDAY ,THE TWENTY FIFTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE :PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO|. 9575 OF 2025 Betwee n : 1. Chamarthi Amarendra Raju, S/o Venkata Raju, aged 47 years, R/o. D.No.ll/60, Gadikota Pedduru, VeerabaIIi MandaI, Kadapa District. 2. Karthik, S/o Jagannadam, aged 38 years, R/o. D.No.2/2, Varidinatham, 2nd Street, Javanagar, Agaram, Chennai. 3. Mude MaIIikarjuna Naik, S/o Chakra Naik, aged 35 years, R/o. Sugali Bidiki, Kolumala Palli, CK Dinne Mandal. 4. Mitta Madhava Reddy, S/o Krishna Reddy, aged 42 years, R/o. D.No.15/42-2, Buddayapalli, Chennuru Mandal, Kadapa District 5. Dasari Nagendra, S/o Nagaiah, aged 24 years, R/o. D.No.18/2, Jallivandlapalli, Gadikota Post, Veerabapalli MandaI, Kadapa District 6. Gurnam Singh, S/o Manohar Singh, aged 49 years, R/o. Manglihdhi Post, Ramagiri, Ludh'lyana District 7. Abdul Hafij, S/o Maksud Khan, aged 51 years, R/o. Mahu Neemanth road. vialghrgarh, Mandsur, Madhya Pradesh. petitiomeFS/AecuseGi fl t® 7 I-I-- / AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, rep by I|tS Public Prosecutor, HI'gh Court of Andhra Pradesh, At Amaravati. Respondent/Complainant Petition under sections 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C, (New Sections 480 & 483 of BNSS, 2023) praying that in the circumstahces stated in the affidavit filed I'n Support Of the Criminal Petition, the High Court may be pleased to release the petitioners/accused no. 1 to 7 on bail, pending investigation, inquiry and trial in OR.No.102/2025-26 of Kadapa Range COUNSEL FOR THE PETITIONER : SRl. D PURNACHANDRA REDDY COUNSEL FOR THE RESPONDENT : PUBLIC PROSECUTOR THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING ORDER +./ APHCO10486872025 lN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATl (special original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY,THE TWENTY FIFTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 9575 OF 2025 [3521] Between : 1.CHAMARTHI AMARENDRA RAJU, S/O VENKATA RAJU, AGED 47 yEARS, R/O. D.NO.ll/60, GADIKOTA PEDDURU, VEERABALLI MANDAL, KADAPA DISTRICT. 2.KARTHIK, S/O JAGANNADAM, AGED 38 YEARS, R/O. D.NO.2/2, VARIDINATHAM, 2ND STREET, JAVANAGAR, AGARAM, CHENNAl. 3.MUDE MALLIKARJUNA NAIK, S/O CHAKRA NAIK, AGED 35 YEARS, R/O. SUGALI BIDIKl, KOLUMALA PALLl, CK DINNE MANDAL. 4.MITTA MADHAVA REDDY-, S/O KRISHNA REDDY, AGED 42 YEARS, R/O. D.NO.15/42-2, BUDDAYAPALLl, CHENNURU MANDAL, KADAPA DISTRICT 5.DASARI NAGENDRA, S/O NAGAIAH, AGED 24 YEARS, R/O. D.NO.18/2, JALLIVANDLAPALLl, GADIKOTA POST, VEERABAPALLI MANDAL, KADAPA DISTRICT 6.GURNAM SINGH, S/O MANOHAR SINGH, AGED 49 YEARS, R/O. MANGLINDHI POST, RAMAGIRl, LUDHIYANA DISTRICT 7.ABDUL HAFIJ, S/O MAKSUD KHAN, AGED 51 YEARS, R/O. MAHU NEEMANTH ROAD. VIALGHRGARH, MANDSUR, MADHYA PRADESH. ...pE"TIONER/ACCUSED(S) _AND *_ _-= j' 1.THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, rep by its public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra pradesh, At Amaravati. M.RESPONDENT/COIVIPLAINANT Counsel for the petitioner/accused(s).I 1. D PURNA CHANDRA REDDY Counsel for the Respondent/complainant.I 1.PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following ORDER: ;:-- The Criminal Petition has been filed under sectI|OnS 48O and 483 of the Bharatiya NagarI-k Suraksha sanhita, 2023 (for brevI-ty {the BNSSJ), seeking to enlarge the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 7 on bail in O.R.No.102/2025-26 of Kadapa Range, registered agal-nst the petitl-oners/Accused Nos. 1 to 7 herein for the offence punishable under sections 20(1)(c)(ij)(jii)(jv)(vi)&(x) read with 20(1)(d), Section 32-A, 32-B, 32-C, 62-A ofA.P.Forest Amendment Act, 2016, Rule 3(1)&(2) of Andhra Pradesh sandal wood and Red Sanders wood Transit Rules,1969, Section 29 read wj{h 68 and Section 29(4)(a) of Andhra pradesh Forest Act, 1967, Rule 3 of A.P:Red Sanders wood possession Rules,1989, SectI'On 29 read with 68 and 29(4) (a) of A.P.Forest Act,1967, sectI-On 3, 4 & 6 of Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Section 303(2) read with 3(5), 49, 61 (2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. B-\\ * at.£i RE-, CASE OF THE PROSECUTION-. 2. Material avermentS Stemming from the Prosecution are that On 12.08.2025 at 12.30 a.m on receipt of cred-Ible information, the Kadapa Range officials proceeded to Maddivanka at 1.30 a.m on hear-Ing some SOundS-, they went on search'lng with torch lights towards that direction and found some persons are loading logs. On seeing the Police, 7 persons and Others ran into the bushes and escaped. It is alleged that on seeing the Surroundings, the Forest Officials found one Bharat Benz lorry and Mahindra TUV car. On examining the same, they found some carved red sander logs weighing lO78 Kgs in the sa'ld vehicles and Seized the 68 logs along with the Said Vehicles and arrested the 7 persons. Hence the above Case Was registered. OF THE COUNSEL FOR THE PETITIONER: CONTENTIONS 3. Sri D. Purna Chandra Reddy, learned Counsel for the Petitioners subm|lts that the petitioners are innocents and`have been falsely implicated 'ln the alleged offence, and that there is no pr,-ma fac,-e material or cogent evidence connecting the petitioners to the commission of the crime, 'It is further contended that the petitioners are the sole earning member of their respect®lve fam'lly and that their incarceration would result 'ln grave hardSh-IP and irreparable prejudice to his dependents. The Petitioners undertake, tO comply with any condition that this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and Proper tO impose while considering the prayer for grant of bail. 4. lt is further Submitted that the Petitioners are Permanent residents Of Kadapa District, Chennai, Ludhiyana District and Madhya Praciesh and there I `---- exI'StS nO apprehension of their absconding or evading the due process of law. The PetI'{iOners have extended full cooperation I-n the course of I-nvestjgatjon and undertakes to con{jnue such cooperatl'on ]'n all future proceedings. It I-s also urged that the nature of the allegations does hot necessitate custodial jn{errogatI'On, and that the imposition of appropriate conditions would suffI-Ce tO secure the ends of justice. ln vI'eW Of the foregoing, ,-I is urged to allow the petI'tiOn. ARGU MENTS OF THE STATE : 5. Per confra, Ms. P. Akhi[a Najdu, learned Assistant pubI]-c Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail, asser{jng that the investjgat[-on Its at a nascent and cri{[-cat stage, wj{h several materl'al witnesses yet to be examined. It is subml-tted that the premature enlargement of the petitioners on ba" would be I-nI-mjCal tO the sanctI'ty and efficacy of the ongoI-ng investI-gative process and may engender deII'bera{e non-cooperation on the part of the petitIIoner. The prosecution further raises an apprehension that, jf released, the petI|tiOnerS may exert undue I-nfluence upon, or intimidate, prosecution witnesses, thereby I'mPeding the adminjstratjon of just[-ce and vI-tjat[|ng the evjdentjary foundation of the easel l{ jS also COntended that there exists a palpable and imminent risk of the petitioners abscondI'ng, thereby frustrating the due process of law. 6. !n view of the gravity and allegations, coupled w]'th the potentI'al threat posed to the integrity of the jnvestjgatI'On, it ,'s submI'tted that the Petitioners L,\_. €- .-i,-.=} are not entitled to the indulgence of discretionary relief and it is urged to dismiss the present Criminal Petition. POINT FOR CONSIDERATION-. 7. ln view of the r'lval submiSSiOnS advanced by both the learned Counsel and upon a perusal of the prosecu:orial narrative, the pivotal issue now meriting for consideration is: {[whether the petitioners are ent-ltled for grant of bail?" ANALYSIS: 8. The allegations aga'InStthe Petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 7, on perusal of the record is that they had acted as coolies for cutting down 68 logs from the red sandal trees and attempted to transport the Same tO desired destinations. The weight of 68 logs is 1078 Kgs. The Petitioners were arrested on 12.08.2025. They were in judici€ll custody for the Past 44 days. The petitioner No.1 is a permanent resident Of Gadikota Pedduru Village, veeraballi MandaI, Kadapa District; Petitioner No.2 is the Kolumala Palli, c.K.Dinne Mandal; Petitioner No.3 is a permanent resident Of Varidinatham, Javanagar, Agaram, Chennai; Petitioner No.4 is Buddayapalli, Chennuru Mandal, Kadapa District; Petitioner No.5 is a permanent resident Of Jallivandalapalli, Veerabapalli Mandal, Kadapa District; Petitioner No.6 is a resident of Ramagiri, Ludhiyana District and Petitioner No.7 is a permanent resident of vialghrgarh, Mandsur, Madhya Pradesh, The Petitioners have got fixec! abode and they are coolies. 9. Learned Assl-slant public Prosecutor submits that there are no sl-ml'lar adverse antecedents against the petitioners. so far 7 witnesses are examI'ned| All are official witnesses. chances of petitioners/ Accused No-s. 3 to 7 either threaten]'ng the w]'tnesses or tamperjng the evl'dence or hamperI'ng the investigatI'On may not arise. Substantial portion of ['nvestigatjon jn relation to the role of the petitioners I'S completed. 10. Learned Assistant publI'C Prosecutor submI'tS that Accused No.1 and 2 are the maI'n Persons, Who have arranged the services of Accused No.3 to 7 for cuttI'ng down the red sandal trees. The allegations against petitioner Mos. 1 and 2/ Accused Nos.1 and 2 are severe in nature as they are king pin for cutting down the red sandal wood from the reserve forest. CONCLUS lON ll. [n view of the gravity ofaIIeg`ations levelled against the petitioner Nos.1 and 2/ Accused Nos. 1 and 2, this Court is not l'nclined to grant regular ba" to them at thI-S juncture. AccordI'ngly, the Crim]'nal petition is dl'smissed against petI'tiOner Nos.1 and 2/ Accused No.1 and 2 only. 12. ConsI'dering the nature and gravity of allegatI-On [evel[ed against the pe{]'tjoner Mos, 3 to 7/ Accused Nos. 3 to 7, their alleged role played in this case, and the period of detention undergone by the petI-tiOner Nos.3 to 7/ Accused Nos, 3 to 7, this court !'s inclined to enlarge the petjtjoners Nos. 3 to 7/ Accused Mos. 1 to 7 on ba" with the follow[-ng stringent condj{jons.. t` ? i. The-Petitioner Nos,3 to 7/ Accused Nos.3 to 7 shall be enlarged on bail subject to the-lr executing a bond for a sum of Rs.20,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand Only), With two Sureties each for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class for tr'lal Of Cases relating tO Red Sanders Smuggling, Tirupati. ii. The Petitioner Nos.4 and 5/ Accused Nos.4 and 5 shall appear before the station House Officer concerned, Kadapa Range, on every Saturday in between 10|.00 am and O5'.00 pm, till cognizance is taken by the learned the Trial Court. iii. The Petitioner Nos.4 and 5/ Accused Nos. 4 and 5 shall not leave the limits of the state of Andhra Pradesh without Prior permission from the station House Officer concerned. iv. The Petitioner Nos.3 to 7/ Accused Nos.3 to 7 shall not commit or indulge in comm-lssion of any offence in future. v. The Petitioner Nos.3 to 7/ Accused Nos.3 to 7 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further irlvestigat'lon of the case and shall make themselves available for 'lnterrOgatiOn by the invest-lgating officer as and when required. vi. The Pet'ltioner Nos.3 to 7/ Accused Nos.3 to 7 shall not, directly or indirectly, make any 'lnducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to `--..-` \ dI'SSuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer. vij. The Petitioner Nos.3 {o 7/ Accused Nos. 3 to 7 shall surrender their passports, if any, to the investl-gating officer. lf they claim that they do not have passports, they shall submI-I an affI-davit tO that effect to the Investigating officer. 13. AccordI'ngly, the Criminal Petition is partly allowed. //TRUE COPY// I OFFICER To, 1. The Judicial Magistrate of First Class for trail of cases relatl'ng to Red Sar]ders smuggling, TI-ruPatl| 2. The Superintendent, central PrI'SOn, Kadapa 3. One CC to SRI. D PURNAQHANDRA REDDYAdvocate [opuc] 4. Two CCs to PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, Hl'gh Court ofA.P[OUT] 5. One spare copy _ _ i + HIGH COURT DR.YLR,J DATED..25/09/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No.9575 of 2025 PARTLY ALLOWED