1 APHC010143222026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3396] TUESDAY,THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF MARCH TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 2190/2026 Between: 1. KOMMURI VENKATA RAMANA MURTHY ALIAS KOMMURU RAMANA, S/O. KOMMURI KRISHNA MURTHY AGE 47 YEARS R/O. 7-30/A WARD - 23 MUNNAVARIPALEM BAPATLA DISTRICT. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor High Court of A.P.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 petitioner/Accused No.1 on bail in the event of his arrest in connection with the Crime No. 37 of 2026 dated 04.03.2026 on the file of Bapatla Town Urban Police Station Bapatla Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: 1. MARELLA RADHA Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following: 2 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 2190/2026 ORDER:- This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity, “BNSS”), by the petitioner/Accused No.1 seeking protection in the event of his arrest in connection with Crime No.37 of 2026 dated 04.03.2026 on the file of Bapatla Town Urban Police Station, Bapatla, registered for the offence punishable under Section 318(4) read with relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code. 2. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the de-facto complainant, a 60-year-old man, alleged that he, along with another person, purchased an extent of Ac.0.15 cents of land in Sy. No.47/3 situated at Parters Colony, Bapatla Town, from accused Nos.1 to 3, who acted as brokers. Subsequently, when the complainant attempted to further deal with the said property and applied for survey, it was revealed that no such land exists in the said survey number. It is alleged that accused Nos.1 to 3 colluded with each other and cheated the complainant by selling non-existent land. 3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor for the State. Perused the material available on record. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent and falsely implicated in the present case. It is further submitted that the petitioner is ready to cooperate with the investigation and seeks protection in 3 terms of the guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar. 5. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, on instructions, submits that the offence alleged against the petitioner is punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years and appropriate directions may be issued to the Investigating Officer. 6. Having regard to the nature of the allegations, the punishment prescribed for the offence, and the submissions made by both sides, this Court deems it appropriate to dispose of the Criminal Petition by issuing directions in line with the statutory provisions and the guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. 7. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is disposed of with the following directions: a) The Investigating Officer is at liberty to proceed with and complete the investigation, strictly in accordance with law. b) The police shall not take any coercive steps against the petitioner, pending investigation. However, this shall not preclude the Investigating Agency from filing the final report before the competent Court. c) In the event the Investigating Agency proposes to take any coercive action against the petitioner, they shall strictly adhere to the procedure contemplated under Section 35(3) of the BNSS (corresponding to 4 Section 41-A Cr.P.C.) and the guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar. d) The petitioner/Accused No.1 shall make himself available for investigation as and when required and shall cooperate with the Investigating Officer in the course of investigation. 8. It is made clear that the observations made in this order are only for the purpose of disposal of this petition and shall not be construed as an expression on the merits of the case. As a sequel, miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed. ___________________________________ DR.VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA, J Date: 24.03.2026 KKV 5 37 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE VENKATA JYOTHIRMAI PRATAPA CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 2190 OF 2026 24.03.2026 KKV