(Prayer: 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 Court pleased to release the Petitioner/Accused. No. 4 on bail in Crime No. 90 of 2025, on the file of the Kakumanu Police Station, Guntur and pass)

1. The Criminal Petition has been filed under Sections 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity „the BNSS‟), seeking to enlarge the Petitioner/Accused No.4 on bail in Crime No.90 of 2025 of Kakumanu Police Station, Guntur, registered against the Petitioner/Accused No.4 herein for the offence punishable under Sections 111(4), 318(4) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Section 66D of Information Technology Act.

2. Heard Mr. Shaik Afzal Mohammed, the learned Counsel for the Petitioner and Ms. K. Priyanka Lakshmi, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor.

3. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 23.10.2025 at about 4.00 p.m., the complainant received a phone call from an unknown woman accused, who introduced herself as an officer of the CID, Karnataka State. The caller informed the complainant that a case had been registered against her in Karnataka relating to human trafficking and instructed her to come to Delhi. During the course of the conversation, the caller obtained the complainant’s bank details and other family particulars, and the complainant disclosed the same to the accused. The said unknown woman thereafter made several WhatsApp calls to the complainant’s mobile number and informed her that she was allegedly involved in a money laundering case. The accused also threatened the complainant with “digital arrest” and demanded money to avoid legal action. Believing the version of the unknown accused, the complainant transferred an amount of Rs.22,00,000/- and Rs.20,00,000/- on two occasions, totaling Rs.42,00,000/-, from her SBI savings account to the bank accounts specified by the accused through ICICI Bank transactions. Subsequently, upon realizing that she had been cheated by unknown persons, the complainant approached the police station on 07.11.2025 and lodged a complaint. Based on the said complaint, the police registered the present crime.

4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner would submit that petitioner herein is arrayed as A.4 in the subject crime and that no specific allegations attributed against him attracting the offences alleged against him and that statutory period is completed and charge sheet is not filed by the respondent Police. Learned counsel would further submit that the petitioner has been in Jail since 19.12.2025 and that the petitioner is entitled for statutory bail. He would further submit that this Court enlarged A.5 on regular bail vide order dated 24.03.2026 in Crl.P.No.2175 of 2026. The petitioner herein is also on the same footing as of A.5. Learned counsel finally prays for grant of bail to the petitioner.

5. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor would submit that the statutory period has been completed and no report has been filed before the learned Special Court by the concerned and no petition is filed by the concerned Public Prosecutor seeking extension of the period of judicial custody up to one year by indicating progress of the investigation. She would further submit that the petitioner herein is on the same footing as of accused No.5 and the Court may pass appropriate orders.

6. Considering the submissions made and on perusal of the material on record, without touching the merits of the case, taking into consideration the petitioner has been in jail since 19.122025 and the charge sheet is not filed within the statutory period, the petitioner is entitled to be released on default bail.

7. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed with the following conditions:

                  i. The petitioner/Accused No. 4 shall be enlarged on bail on executing bond for a sum of Rs.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand only) with two sureties for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the learned Additional Junior Civil Judge, Ponnur.

                  ii. The petitioner/Accused No.4 shall not commit or indulge in commission of any offence in future.

                  iii. The petitioner/Accused No.4 shall cooperate with the investigating officer in further investigation of the case and shall make himself available for interrogation by the Investigating Officer as and when required.

                  iv. The petitioner/Accused No.4 shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the Court.

                  v. The petitioner/Accused No.4 shall surrender his passport, if any, to the concerned Court. If he claims that he does not have a passport, he shall submit an affidavit to that effect to the concerned Court.

                  vi. The petitioner/Accused No.4, shall appear before the concerned Station House Officer, once in a week i.e., on every Saturday between 10:00 am and 05:00 pm, until further orders.

As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition shall stand closed.