Pangi Sunil Kumar Sunil, vs The State Of Telangana, on 11 April, 2025

Telangana High Court

Pangi Sunil Kumar Sunil, vs The State Of Telangana, on 11 April, 2025

     THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE J. SREENIVAS RAO

             CRIMINAL PETITION No. 4789 of 2025

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed under Sections 480 and 483 of

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhitha, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) seeking

bail to the petitioner/accused No.1 in Crime No.61 of 2025 on the file

of the P.S. Hayathnagar, Rachakonda, registered for the offences

punishable under Sections 8(C) r/w 20(b)(ii)(C) and 29 of the Narcotic

Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (Amendment Act, 2001)

(for short ‘NDPS Act‘).

2. The case of the prosecution is that on 12.01.2025, on receipt of

credible information that ganja is being transported illegally in Innova

Car bearing registration No.AP 09 BM 5959, the seizing officer went

near to Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy SSR Constructions and found that the

accused are in possession of 28.78 kgs of ganja and seized the same.

Basing on the same a case was registered in Crime No.61 of 2025.

3. Heard Mr.P.Manoj Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner and

Mr.Syed Yasar Mamoon, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the

respondent-State.

2

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner

has not committed the offence and he was falsely implicated in the

above said crime. He further submitted that Police have seized the

contraband from the possession of other accused. He further

submitted that the petitioner was arrested on 12.01.2025 and since

then was in judicial custody and the entire investigation is

completed, except filing of the charge sheet. He further submitted

that similar allegations are levelled against accused Nos.2 and 3 in

the said crime, as they were against petitioner/accused No.1 and they

approached this Court and filed Crl.P.No.3735 of 2025 and this

Court granted bail to them on 21.03.2025 and the petitioner is also

entitled for grant of bail. He further submitted that the petitioner shall

abide by the conditions, which are going to be imposed by this Court,

and he is ready to cooperative with the investigation. Hence, the

petitioner may be enlarged on bail.

5. Per contra, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the

same. He submitted that the contraband i.e., ganja, that was seized is

28.78 kgs, which is commercial quantity and the petitioner is
3

involved in similar offence and the investigation is under progress,

hence, at this stage, the petitioner is not entitled for grant of bail.

6. Having considered the rival submissions made by the

respective parties and after perusal of the material available on

record, it reveals that the police seized 28.78 kgs of ganja, which is

commercial quantity. According to the learned Additional Public

Prosecutor, as per the instructions of the Sub-Inspector of Police,

Hayathnagar, petitioner is involved in similar offence in Crime

No.77 of 2024 on the file of Manuguru Police Station and the

investigation is not yet completed. At this stage, it is pertinent to note

Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which reads as under:

“37. Offences to be cognizable and non-bailable. –

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),–(a) every offence
punishable under this Act shall be cognizable;

(b) no person accused of an offence punishable for
1[offences under section 19 or section 24 or section 27A
and also for offences involving commercial quantity] shall
be released on bail or on his own bond unless–

(i) the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to
oppose the application for such release, and

(ii) where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the
court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for
4

believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is
not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
(2) The limitations on granting of bail specified in clause (b)
of sub-section (1) are in addition to the limitations under the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) or any other
law for the time being in force on granting of bail.”

7. In view thereof, Section 37 of the NDPS Act mandates that

offences involving commercial quantities be non-bailable, requiring

reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and unlikely

to commit further offences while on bail. Hence, since the allegations

levelled against the petitioner are serious in nature, this Court is not

satisfied that conditions for granting bail under Section 37 are met.

Therefore, the criminal petition lacks merit and the same is liable to

be dismissed.

8. Accordingly, this Criminal Petition is dismissed.

Miscellaneous applications, pending if any, shall stand closed.

____________________
J. SREENIVAS RAO, J
Date: 11.04.2025
vsl