Date of reserved for orders : Date of pronouncement : Date of uploading : APHC010326612026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] TUESDAY, THE 7th DAY OF JULY 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 5234/2026 Between: 1. POTHULAYYA, S/O POTALA KULLAYAPPA,AGED ABOUT 43 YEARS,R/OD.NO.1-126, B.C COLONY,VANKARAKUNTA VILLAGE, NALLAMADA MANDAL,SRI SATYASAI DIST. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, ,Rep by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravathi, Through Station House Officer, Nallamada P.S., Sri Satyasai District. ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: 1. M KARIBASAIAH Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Court made the following: 2 Dr.YLR, J Crl.P.No.5234 of 2026 Dated 07.07.2026 ORDER: Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNSS’) by the Petitioners/Accused No.2 for grant of pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No.120 of 2025 of Nallamada Police Station, Sri Satya Sai District, registered for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 109 and 118(1) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNS’). 2. Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. 3. Sri M. Karibasaiah, learned Counsel for the Petitioner, submits that this is the second anticipatory bail petition. He submits that the Petitioner is innocent of the alleged offences and has been falsely implicated in the present crime. Learned Counsel further submits that the investigation has been completed, except for the filing of the charge sheet. He also submits that there are no criminal antecedents against the Petitioner. It is further submitted that the Petitioner is ready to furnish sureties to the satisfaction of this Court. Therefore, he prays that this Court may be pleased to grant anticipatory bail to the Petitioner. 4. Per contra, Mr. K. Sandeep, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, submits that this is the second anticipatory bail application, which is not maintainable in view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in G.R. 3 Dr.YLR, J Crl.P.No.5234 of 2026 Dated 07.07.2026 Ananda Babu v. State of Tamil Nadu1. Hence, she prays that the present application be dismissed in the interest of justice and to safeguard the sanctity of the investigative process. 5. Indeed, this Court, by order dated 06.04.2026 in Crl.P.No. 2444 of 2026, dismissed the earlier anticipatory bail application on the ground that specific overt acts were attributed to the Petitioner and that the investigation was at a nascent stage. This Court also referred to the judgments of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. State of Punjab2 and Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi)3 wherein it was held that the grant of pre-arrest bail is neither a licence for the commission of an offence nor a shield for those against whom specific accusations have been made. Pre-arrest bail is a discretionary remedy, and the Court would not grant such relief when specific overt acts are attributed to the Petitioner. 6. The Hon’ble Apex Court in G.R. Ananda Babu supra wherein at para No.6 as under : “6…As a matter of fact, successive anticipatory bail applications ought not to be entertained and more so, when the case diary and the status report, clearly indicated that the accused (Respondent 2) is absconding and not cooperating with the investigation. The specious reason of change in circumstances cannot be invoked for successive anticipatory bail applications, once it is rejected by a speaking order and that too by the same Judge.” 1 (2021) 16 SCC 725 2 (1980) 2 SCC 565 3 (2020) 5 SCC 1 4 Dr.YLR, J Crl.P.No.5234 of 2026 Dated 07.07.2026 7. There are specific overt acts attributed to the Petitioner. Hence, there are no merits in this Criminal Petition. Accordingly, this criminal petition is dismissed. ________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Dated: 07.07.2025 KMS Whether the order is : Speaking Yes/No / Reasoned Yes/No Reportable Yes/No / Non-Reportable Yes/No 5 Dr.YLR, J Crl.P.No.5234 of 2026 Dated 07.07.2026 106 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.5234 of 2026 Date: 07.07.2026 KMS