APHC010027792026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE TWENTY NINETH DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 418/2026 Between: 1. AKKAIAHGARI VENKATESWARLU ALIAS VENKI, S/O. CHINA THATHAIAH,AGED 22 YRS,R/O NEAR MANASADEVI TEMPLE, KALLURUPALLI RURAL,KANAPARTHIPADU VILLAGE, NELLORE RURAL MANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. 2. BELLAMKONDA UDAY KUMAR, S/O. SRINIVASULU, AGED ABOUT 23YEARS, R/O. RAMACHANDRAPURAM, BEHIND RAGAVA SCHOOL,NAJEERTHOTA, FCI COLONY, NELLORE CITY, ANDHRA PRADESH. 3. GIDDALURU JUDEV KUMAR BUNNI, S/O SUMANTH KUMAR,AGED 22 YEARS, R/O. INAMADUGU CENTER, PADUGUPADU VILLAGEKOVUR MANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. 4. KAKUMUDI SUBRAMANYAM ALIAS MANI, S/O SRINIVASULU, AGED 26YEARS, R/O. INAMADUGU CENTER, PEDDA PADUGUPADU, KOVURMANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. 5. SHAIK AKBAR, S/O. SUBHAN, AGED ABOUT 20 Y KRRNAGAR, SRINIVASANAGAR, PADUGUPADU VILLAGE, KOVUR MANDALANDHRA PRADESH. 6. BHULOKAM SRINATH ALIAS BUDIGI, S/O. SREENIVASULU, AGED 20YEARS, R/O. ARUNDATIYAWADA, INAMADUGU VILLAGE, KOVURMANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) THE TWENTY NINETH DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 418/2026 AKKAIAHGARI VENKATESWARLU ALIAS VENKI, S/O. CHINA THATHAIAH,AGED 22 YRS,R/O NEAR MANASADEVI TEMPLE, KALLURUPALLI RURAL,KANAPARTHIPADU VILLAGE, NELLORE NDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. BELLAMKONDA UDAY KUMAR, S/O. SRINIVASULU, AGED ABOUT 23YEARS, R/O. RAMACHANDRAPURAM, BEHIND RAGAVA SCHOOL,NAJEERTHOTA, FCI COLONY, NELLORE CITY, ANDHRA GIDDALURU JUDEV KUMAR BUNNI, S/O SUMANTH KUMAR,AGED R/O. INAMADUGU CENTER, PADUGUPADU VILLAGEKOVUR MANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. KAKUMUDI SUBRAMANYAM ALIAS MANI, S/O SRINIVASULU, AGED 26YEARS, R/O. INAMADUGU CENTER, PEDDA PADUGUPADU, KOVURMANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. SHAIK AKBAR, S/O. SUBHAN, AGED ABOUT 20 Y KRRNAGAR, SRINIVASANAGAR, PADUGUPADU VILLAGE, KOVUR MANDALANDHRA PRADESH. BHULOKAM SRINATH ALIAS BUDIGI, S/O. SREENIVASULU, AGED 20YEARS, R/O. ARUNDATIYAWADA, INAMADUGU VILLAGE, KOVURMANDAL, ANDHRA PRADESH. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED(S) AND IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH [3396] THE TWENTY NINETH DAY OF JANUARY THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA AKKAIAHGARI VENKATESWARLU ALIAS VENKI, S/O. CHINA THATHAIAH,AGED 22 YRS,R/O NEAR MANASADEVI TEMPLE, KALLURUPALLI RURAL,KANAPARTHIPADU VILLAGE, NELLORE BELLAMKONDA UDAY KUMAR, S/O. SRINIVASULU, AGED ABOUT 23YEARS, R/O. RAMACHANDRAPURAM, BEHIND RAGAVA SCHOOL,NAJEERTHOTA, FCI COLONY, NELLORE CITY, ANDHRA GIDDALURU JUDEV KUMAR BUNNI, S/O SUMANTH KUMAR,AGED R/O. INAMADUGU CENTER, PADUGUPADU KAKUMUDI SUBRAMANYAM ALIAS MANI, S/O SRINIVASULU, AGED 26YEARS, R/O. INAMADUGU CENTER, PEDDA PADUGUPADU, SHAIK AKBAR, S/O. SUBHAN, AGED ABOUT 20 YRS, R/O. KRRNAGAR, SRINIVASANAGAR, PADUGUPADU VILLAGE, KOVUR BHULOKAM SRINATH ALIAS BUDIGI, S/O. SREENIVASULU, AGED 20YEARS, R/O. ARUNDATIYAWADA, INAMADUGU VILLAGE, ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED(S) 2 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep. by its Public ProsecutorHigh Court of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati, ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Petition under Section 437/438/439/482 of Cr.P.C and 528 of BNSS praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Courtpleased to enlarge the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 to 6 on bail in Crime No.01 of 2026 of Kovur Police Station, SPSR Nellore District, registered for the offences under Section 8(c) read with Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act, 1985, on such terms and conditions Counsel for the Petitioner/accused(S): 1. VENKATESH KOSARAJU 2. Venkatesh kosaraju Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following: 3 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 418/2026 ORDER: This Criminal Petition, under Sections 480 and 483 of the BNSS, has been filed by the petitioner herein/Accused Nos.1 to 6, seeking regular bail, in Crime No.01 of 2026 on the file of Kovvur Police Station, SPSR Nellore District, registered for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii)(B) read with 8(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, (for short, ‘the NDPS Act’). 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 06.01.2026 at about 10:30 hours, accused A1 to A6 were apprehended at Pedda Padugupadu Main Road, Kovur Mandal, while illegally possessing and transporting 6.635 kgs of ganja for the purpose of sale. It is submitted that they had procured the ganja from Visakhapatnam on 02.01.2026, transported it to Nellore, and were proceeding on two scooters to sell it. After compliance with Section 50 of the NDPS Act, the contraband and the vehicles were seized, and the accused were taken into custody, leading to registration of the case. 3. Heard Sri Kosaraju Venkatesh, learned counsel for the petitioner Nos.1 to 6 and Mrs.K.Priyanka Lakshmi, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor on behalf of the State. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioners would submit that the petitioners were arrested on 06.01.2026, since then, they have been in judicial custody. 4 They would further submit that the petitioners are innocent and the petitioners are ready to furnish sureties to the satisfaction of the Court. Learned counsel for the petitioners finally prays for grant of bail to the petitioners by imposing any conditions. 5. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor would submit that the investigation is not yet completed. The quantity of contraband involved in present crime is 6.635 kgs of Ganja, which is a commercial quantity. Inventory is also not completed. The Statutory period of 180 days is not over. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor finally prays for dismissal of the petition in the light of the bar under Section 37 of NDPS Act. 6. The Hon’ble Apex Court in State of Kerala v. Rajesh1 at Paragraph Nos.8, 19, 20 and 21 held as under: 8. To curb the spread of dangerous drugs, Parliament has mandated that an accused under the NDPS Act cannot be granted bail unless there are reasonable grounds to believe he is not guilty and will not commit offences while on bail. The High Court failed to justify ignoring these mandatory conditions when releasing the accused. Instead of considering the grave socio-economic and health consequences of illegal drug trafficking, the court ought to have enforced the law in the spirit intended by Parliament. 19. Section 37 imposes additional, overriding restrictions on the grant of bail, beyond those under Section 439 CrPC, through its non obstante clause. It prohibits bail unless two mandatory conditions are met: the prosecution is given an opportunity to oppose, and the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty. If either condition is not fulfilled, the bar against granting bail applies. 20.The term “reasonable grounds” requires more than mere prima facie satisfaction; it demands substantial, probable causes showing the accused is not guilty. Such belief must arise from facts and circumstances sufficient to justify that conclusion. In the present case, the High Court overlooked the strict object of Section 37, and its liberal approach to bail under the NDPS Act was unwarranted. 1 (2020) 12 SCC 122 5 21. The learned Single Judge failed to record the mandatory finding required under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which is a sine qua non for granting bail in such cases. 7. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, the petitioner does not deserve for grant of regular bail at this stage. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is dismissed. As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed. __________________________________________ DR. JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA Date: 29.01.2026 KKV 6 249 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 418/2026 Dt.29.01.2026 KKV