APHC010554442025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] FRIDAY,THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF OCTOBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 10756/2025 Between: KP VEERAPPAN, S/O. PALANI, AGED ABOUT 29 YEARS, R/O. KUPPURU VILLAGE, BODAGUTTAPALLI POST, YADAMARI MANDAL, CHITTOOR DISTRICT, A.P. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: GOLLAPALLI MAHESWARA RAO Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR 2 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.10756 of 2025 Dated 24.10.2025 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.’)/ Sections 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNSS’), seeking to enlarge the petitioner/Accused on bail in Crime.No.86 of 2025 of Government Railway Police Station, Guntakal, Prakasam District, registered against the petitioner/Accused herein for the offences punishable under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(B) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity ‘the NDPS Act’). 2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. 3. As seen from the record, the allegation against the petitioner/Accused is that he was in possession of 3.70 Kgs of ganja, which is not a commercial quantity. So far, six witnesses have been examined, and they are all official witnesses. Substantial portion of the investigation with regard to the alleged role played by the petitioner is completed. The petitioner may not have any chance of threatening the witnesses, hampering the investigation, or tampering with the evidence. 3 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.10756 of 2025 Dated 24.10.2025 The seized contraband is not a commercial quantity. The petitioner is a permanent resident of Kuppuru Village, Bodaguttapalli Post, Yadamari Mandal, Chittoor District. He has got fixed abode. If he is enlarged on bail with certain stringent conditions, he may not evade from the process of law. The petitioner was arrested on 24.08.2025 and he has been in judicial custody for the past 61 days. The learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that two similar adverse antecedents under the provisions of ‘the NDPS Act’ have been reported against him in Crime No.101 of 2024 and Cr.No.34 of 2025. 4. Be that as it may, the petitioner/Accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. In 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. 5. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature and gravity of allegations levelled against the Petitioner/Accused, this Court is inclined to enlarge the Petitioner/Accused on bail with the following stringent conditions: 12020 (11) SCC 648 4 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.10756 of 2025 Dated 24.10.2025 i. The petitioner/Accused shall be enlarged on bail subject to he executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only), with two sureties each for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the learned I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Nellore, SPSR Nellore District. ii. The petitioner/Accused shall appear before the Station House Officer concerned, on every Saturday in between 10:00 am and 05:00 pm, till filing of the charge sheet. iii. The petitioner/Accused shall not leave the limits of the State of Andhra Pradesh without prior permission from the Station House Officer concerned. iv. The petitioner/Accused shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence in future. v. The petitioner/Accused 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. 5 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.10756 of 2025 Dated 24.10.2025 6. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed. _________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Date: 24.10.2025 RSI 6 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.10756 of 2025 Dated 24.10.2025 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.10756 of 2025 Date: 24.10.2025 RSI