APHC010691072025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] TUESDAY,THE SIXTH DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 13378/2025 Between: BANOTHU BALAKRISHNA, S/O BHIMUDU, AGED ABOUT 30YEARS , OCC AGRICULTURE, CASTE LABADA, BADHU TANADA,R/O POLARAM VILLAGE, LLLANDU MANDAL, BADHANDRI,KOTHAGUDEM, KHAMMAM DISTRICT. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED No.1 AND THE STATE OF AP, rep by its PublicProsecutor, High Court Buildings, High CourtAmaravathi through rep by Mothugudem,Police Station, Rajamahenderavaram, EastGodavari District. ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: P VARA PRASAD RAO Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR 2 Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.13378 of 2025 Dated 06.01.2026 The Court made the following: ORDER: The Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity 8the BNSS9) by the Petitioner/Accused No.1 for granting of pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No.28 of 2019 in Mothugudem Police Station, East Godavari District, registered for the alleged offence punishable under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity 8the NDPS Act9). 2. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent. He has not committed any offence. He is a law‑abiding citizen. He has been falsely implicated in this case. If any condition is imposed for granting pre‑arrest bail, the petitioner would scrupulously follow such condition. The petitioner is the owner of the Eicher vehicle, which had been leased to Accused No.2 for the purpose of transporting coconuts. The said vehicle was allegedly misused by Accused No.2 for transporting 2600 kgs of Ganja. Therefore, it is urged to grant pre‑arrest bail to the petitioner. 3. Per contra, Mr.Neelotphal Ganji, the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, vehemently opposed the grant of pre‑arrest bail, contending that in NDPS cases, such relief has been consistently deprecated by the Hon9ble Apex Court in a catena of judgments. He further submitted that this is the 3 Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.13378 of 2025 Dated 06.01.2026 second pre‑arrest bail application filed by the petitioners and, therefore, urged to dismiss the petition. 4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. 5. On perusal of the record, a learned Single Judge of this Court, in Crl.P.No.591 of 2020, vide order dated 10.02.2025, dismissed the first bail application filed by the petitioner. The petitioner has neither surrendered before the Jurisdictional Magistrate nor challenged the order passed by the learned Single Judge before the Hon9ble Apex Court. The Hon9ble Apex Court, in Ananda Babu v. State of T.N.,1at paragraph No.6, has held that successive anticipatory bail applications cannot be entertained, especially in NDPS cases. The alleged offence pertains to the year 2019 registered at Mothugudem Police Station. 6. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner had not indulged in the transportation of 2600 kgs of ganja and that he had merely leased his vehicle to Accused No.2, who, without his knowledge, transported the contraband, sounds good, but the proof is in the pudding, since it is a matter to be appreciated by the learned trial Court after the evidence to be adduced during the trial. 7. In view of above facts and circumstances of the case, nature and gravity of the allegations levelled against the Petitioner, this Court is not 1(2021) 16 SCC 725 4 Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.13378 of 2025 Dated 06.01.2026 inclined to consider the request of Petitioner for grant of pre-arrest bail as the Petitioner is disentitled for the relief. 8. In the result, the Criminal Petition is dismissed. However, as per the request of the learned counsel for the petitioner, liberty is granted to the petitioner to surrender before the learned Jurisdictional Magistrate concerned within one (01) week from the date of receipt of copy of this order and move an appropriate application before the learned Jurisdictional Court concerned. The learned Jurisdictional Court concerned shall make endeavor to dispose of the said application in accordance with law, on its own merits by giving sufficient opportunity to both sides within a period of one (01) week. ________________________ Dr.Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J. Date: 06.01.2026 PRA