IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI WEDNESDAY, THE THIRTIETH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE iPRESENT: THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE T MALLIKARJUNA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 4177 OF 2025 Between: Vanthala Krishna Rao @ Krishna, S/o. Sannu, aged about 24 years, R/o. Jamiguda Village, Jamiguda Panchayat, Pedabayalu Mandal, Alluri Sitharama Raju District, A.P. ...Petitioner/Accused No.3 AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. ...Respondent Petition under Sections 437 & 439 of Cr.P.C and Under Sections 480 & 483 of BNSS 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 enlarge the Petitioner/Accused No.3 on bail pending disposal of Crime No. 26/2025 of Kothakota P.S., Anakapalli District. The Petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the Petition and the memorandum of grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of SRI GOLLAPALLI MAHESWARA RAO Advocate for the Petitioner, and of PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, for the Respondent, made the following the Court THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE T.MALLIKARJUNA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.4177 of 2025 ORDER: This Criminal Petition under Sections 480 and 483 of B.N.S.S., has been filed by the petitioner/A3, seeking regular bail in Crime No.26 of 2025 of Kothakota Police Station, Anakapalli District. 2. The above said crime was registered against the petitioner/A3 herein and others for the offence punishable u/Sec.20(b)(ii)(B) r/w 8(c) of the NDPS Act. 3. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that, on 18.03.2025, on receipt of credible information, the Sub-Inspector of Police along with his staff and mediators rushed to Kannampeta Junction, Ravikamatha, Mandal and caught A1 and A2 in possession of 10 Kgs of Ganja. The contraband along with other material was seized under the cover of mediators report. Basing on the confession statement of other accused, this accused was arrested on 20.3.2025. 4. Perused the record. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that basing on the confession statement of co-accused, the name of the petitioner herein is arrayed as accused in the present crime. Except the said confessional statement, no other material is collected showing the complicity of the petitioner in the present crime. Moreover, the contraband allegedly 2 involved in the present crime is 10 Kgs of Ganja, which is not a comrner quantity. 6. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor opposed to grant bail to the petitioner on the ground that investigation is not yet completed. 7. After careful observation of the material on record and submissions made on behalf of both sides, it shows that no contraband has been seized from the possession of the petitioner. The case against the petitioner is only based on the confessional statement of co-accused and when ascertained, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submitted that no antecedents were reported against the petitioner. Since the petitioner has been in remand from 20.03.2025, this Court found that most of the investigation pertaining to the role played by the petitioner in the commission of the offence would be completed. It is submitted that the petitioner has permanent abode, there is no possibility of his fleeing away from justice and most of the witnesses are official witnesses and the release of the petitioner would not cause tampering of evidence and hampering of investigation. Considering the entire material on record, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the petitioner with some conditions. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed with the following 8. conditions: (i) The petitioner/A3 herein shall be released on his executing a personal bond for Rs.25,000/- (Rupees twenty five thousand only) with two sureties for a like sum to the satisfaction of the 3 learned I Additional District & Sessions Judge-Special Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam; (ii) On release, the petitioner shall appear before the Station House Officer concerned once in a fortnight between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon, for a period of three (03) months, (iii) the petitioner shall not tamper with the evidence and hamper the investigation and shall cooperate for investigation. SO/. K. SRINIVASA RAJU ASSISTANT^ REGISTRAR //TRUE COPY// SECTION OFFICER Fo. . To, 1. The I Additional District & Sessions Judge- Special Judge for Trial of Offences under NDPS Act, Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam District 2. The Superintendent, Central Jail, Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam District 3. The Station House Officer, Kothakota Police Station, Anakapalli District 4. One CC to SRI. GOLLAPALLI MAHESWARA RAO, Advocate [OPUC] 5. Two CCs to PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, High Court of Andhra Pradesh [OUT] 6. One spare copy I PSR HIGH COURT TMR,J DATED:30/04/2025 BAIL ORDER CRLP.No.4177 of 2025 ALLOWED w