APHC010540362025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] FRIDAY,THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF OCTOBER TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 10512 OF 2025 Between: 1. THILAPAKA NANI, S/O SATYA RAO, AGE 24 YEARS, R/O D.NO. 65- 6-466/11/3, GANAPATHINAGAR, GAJUWAKA, VISAKHAPATNAM ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, through Station House officer, Gajuwaka PS, Visakhapatnam Rep. by Public Prosecutor, High Court at Amaravati. ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: 1. RAMINENI SUDHEER Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following Order : The Criminal Petition has been filed under 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 Crime No.351 of 2025 of Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapatnam District, registered against the Petitioner/Accused No.1 herein for the offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C), 25 read with 8(c) 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. 3. The allegation against the Petitioner/ Accused No.1, as seen from the record is that he had allegedly indulged in possession of 4 Kgs of ganja. The contraband seized is below commercial quantity. The Petitioner was arrested on 11.08.2025. He has been in judicial custody for the past 68 days. So far five witnesses are examined. They are all official witnesses. The Petitioner is a permanent resident of Ganapathinagar, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam. He has got fixed abode. Chances of fleeing away from the clutches from the law may not arise. Period of custodial interrogation is also completed. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor submits that there is one adverse criminal antecedent in similar in nature is pending against the Petitioner. Mere pendency of criminal cases against the petitioner is not a sole ground for rejecting the request for grant of regular or pre-arrest bail as per the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Prabhakar Tiwari v. State of U.P. and others1. The petitioner shall be presumed to be innocent till the guilt is proved. 4. Considering the nature and gravity of allegation levelled against the Petitioner, his alleged role played in this case, and the period of detention undergone by the Petitioner, this Court is inclined to enlarge the Petitioner on bail with the following stringent conditions: 1 2020 (11) SCC 648 5. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed with the following conditions: i. The Petitioner/Accused No.1 shall be enlarged on bail subject to his executing a 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 Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam. ii. The Petitioner/Accused No.1 shall appear before the Station House Officer, Gajuwaka Police Station, Visakhapatnam District, on every Saturday in between 10:00 am and 05:00 pm, till cognizance is taken by the learned the Trial Court. iii. The Petitioner/Accused No.1 shall not leave the limits of the State of Andhra Pradesh without prior permission from the Station House Officer concerned. iv. The Petitioner/Accused No.1 shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence in future. v. The Petitioner/Accused No.1 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigation of the case and shall make himself available for interrogation by the investigating officer as and when required. vi. The Petitioner/Accused 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 to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer. vii. The Petitioner/Accused No.1 shall surrender his passport, if any, to the investigating officer. If he claims that he does not have a passport, he shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the Investigating Officer. 6. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed. _________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Date: 17.10.2025. KK