APHC010520362025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] WEDNESDAY, THE NINETEENTH DAY OF NOVEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 10204/2025 Between: Tellamekala Ganesh Manideep ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND The State Of Andhra Pradesh and Others ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT(S) Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: Baggi Venkata Pavan Kumar Counsel for the Respondent/complainant(S): 1. Dasari Ramakoteswar Rao 2. Public Prosecutor The Court made the following: ORDER: Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 20231 by the Petitioner/Accused No.1 for granting of pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No.170 of 2025 of Sattenapalli Town Police Station, Palnadu District, registered for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 69 and 308(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 20232. 1 the BNSS 2 the BNS 2 2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Legal Aid Counsel for the 2nd respondent and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. 3. As seen from the record, the allegations against the petitioner are that the 2nd respondent is a divorced woman aged about 29 years. Taking advantage of her loneliness, the petitioner gained her confidence and had physical relations with her for several times, during which he took nude photographs of the 2nd respondent. When the 2nd respondent decided to sever the relationship, the petitioner threatened to divulge the said nude photographs and videos and repeatedly subjected her to sexual assault. When the 2nd respondent revealed these facts to the petitioner’s sister and brother-in-law, they also blackmailed her using the said nude photographs and videos and took away 61 grams of gold and Rs.1,00,000/- from her. Later, on 10.06.2025, the petitioner along with his sister and brother-in-law contacted the 2nd respondent and demanded Rs.10,00,000/-, threatening that otherwise they would ruin her reputation by publishing her nude photographs as wallpapers. The 2nd respondent narrated the above facts to her brother, who gave her courage and got the matter reported to the police. 4. It is submitted that the petitioner is involved in three cases, vide Crime Nos.192 of 2023 and 165 of 2022, in which he has not been attending Court for the last one year. In Crime No.138 of 2024 also, the petitioner been attending Court for one year. In the present case, custodial interrogation is required to elicit further information. The mobile phone allegedly used by the petitioner to take the photographs and videos of the 2nd respondent is yet to 3 be recovered and sent for forensic analysis. The amount and gold ornaments allegedly taken by the petitioner are also yet to be recovered. 5. The allegation against the Petitioner/Accused No.1 is that there are specific overt acts attributed to him. It is well settled in law, as enunciated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab3 and Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi)4, that the grant of anticipatory bail does not amount to a charter for commission of serious offences, nor does it serve as a cloak of immunity for individuals against whom specific and prima facie cognizable allegations have been levelled. The relief under Section 482 of ‘the BNSS’ is intended to safeguard personal liberty, but not to thwart the legitimate course of investigation or to protect those who are prima facie complicit in grave offences involving overt acts. 6. In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances, coupled with the nature and gravity of the specific allegations attributed to the Petitioner, this Court finds no justifiable ground to exercise discretion under Section 482 of ‘the BNSS’. The allegations prima facie discloses a serious offence warranting thorough investigation, and the Petitioner, in the considered opinion of this Court, does not merit the relief of pre-arrest bail. Accordingly, the prayer for pre-arrest bail is rejected. 7. Hence, this criminal petition is dismissed. _________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Date: 19.11.2025. KMS 3 (1980) 2 SCC 565 4 (2020) 5 SCC 1 4 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.10204 of 2025 Date:19.11.2025 KMS