Date of reserved for orders : Nil Date of pronouncement : 08.07.2026 Date of uploading : APHC010328112026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3521] WEDNESDAY, THE 8th DAY OF JULY 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 5254/2026 Between: LANJAPALLI SUDHEER, AGE 23YRS,S/O.PRAKASH, PIDIMGOYYA, MORAMPUDI VILLAGE,RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM RURAL MANDAL,EAST GODAVARI DISTRICT. ...PETITIONER/ACCUSED AND THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Rep. by public Prosecutor,High court of Andhra Pradesh,through the Station House Officer,Seethanagaram police station.East Godavari District. ...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT Counsel for the Petitioner/accused: INAPURAPU SURYANARAYANA Counsel for the Respondent/complainant: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR 2 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.5254 of 2026 Dated 08.07.2026 The Court made the following: ORDER: The Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNSS’) by the petitioner/Accused No.2 for granting of pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No.67 of 2026 of Seethanagaram Police Station, East Godavari District, registered for the alleged offence punishable under Sections 109(1), 115(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNS’). 2. Sri I. Suryanarayana, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the petitioner is innocent of the alleged offence and has been falsely implicated by the police. The petitioner is of an impressionable age of 23 years and is a student. Accused Nos.1 and 3 have already been enlarged on bail by the learned Trial Court. It is further submitted that the petitioner is the sole earning member of the family and, therefore, his incarceration would cause undue hardship to his dependants. He is a law-abiding citizen. The petitioner undertakes to strictly adhere to any conditions that may be imposed by this Court. In light of the foregoing submissions, the learned counsel prays that the present petition be allowed in the interest of justice. 3 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.5254 of 2026 Dated 08.07.2026 3. Per contra, Mr. K. Sandeep, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, vehemently opposed the grant of pre-arrest bail to the petitioner and submits that specific overt acts have been attributed to the petitioner. He further submits that the investigation is not yet completed. If the petitioner is enlarged on pre-arrest bail, he may not cooperate with the Investigating Officer and may evade the process of law. Therefore, he prayed that the petition be dismissed. 4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record. 5. As seen from the record, the allegation against the petitioner is that he, along with Accused No. 3, caught hold of the de-facto complainant, namely Shiva, while Accused No. 1 stabbed the de-facto complainant with a knife. The de-facto complainant sustained two severe injuries. 6. In view of the specific overt acts attributed against the petitioner, this Court is not inclined to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner, as it would amount to giving a shield, or protection or license to the petitioner who had allegedly caused severe injuries to the victim, as per the judgments of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia v. 4 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.5254 of 2026 Dated 08.07.2026 State of Panjab1 and Sushila Aggarwal v. State of (NCT of Delhi)2. Hence, this Criminal Petition is liable to be dismissed. 7. In the result, the Criminal Petition is dismissed. As a sequel, Miscellaneous petitions, if any pending, shall stand closed. _________________________ DR. Y. LAKSHMANA RAO, J Date: 08.07.2026 RSI Whether the order is : Speaking Yes/No / Reasoned Yes/No Reportable Yes/No / Non-Reportable Yes/No 1(1980) 2 SCC 565 (2020) 5 SCC 1 5 Dr. YLR, J Crl.P.No.5254 of 2026 Dated 08.07.2026 45 THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.5254 of 2026 Date:08.07.2026 RSI