Morampudi Chenna Keshava, v. The State Of Telangana,

IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA

AT HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.52 of 2026 DATE: 19.01.2026 BETWEEN:

Morampudi Chenna Keshava .....petitioner/accused No.3 And The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad.

.....Respondent/complainant

ORDER

This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'BNSS') for grant of pre-arrest bail to the petitioner, who is arrayed as accused No.3 in Crime No.234 of 2025 before the V.M. Banjar

Police Station, Khammam District, registered for the offences punishable under Section 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338 read with 3(5) of BNS and Section 66-D of IT Act, 2000-2008. 2.

The brief facts of the case are that according to the prosecution, the de facto complainant was induced by accused No.1 and others, including the petitioner, on the promise of providing employment or a share in business, to open bank accounts in his name during the years 2022 and 2024. It was alleged that the accused obtained control over the said accounts and misused them to route money obtained through cyber fraud, resulting in registration of Crime No.234 of 2025 at V.M. Banjara Police Station.

3.

Heard Sri T.S.

Anirudh Reddy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Sri D. Arun Kumar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.

4.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was falsely implicated on vague and omnibus allegations without any specific overt act attributed to him

and that no digital evidence, bank transaction, electronic record, or material was produced to show that the petitioner operated or controlled the bank accounts in question. He further submitted that the essential ingredients of Section 338 BNS were not made out, as no forged document or valuable security was alleged against the petitioner, and that the provision was invoked only to avoid statutory safeguards. He contended the inordinate delay in lodging the complaint, the fact that the petitioner was already on bail in a similar case. Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner by allowing this Criminal Petition. 5.

On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner stating that the allegations leveled against the petitioner are serious in nature. Further, the investigation was not yet completed. Therefore, at this stage, granting of pre-arrest bail to the petitioner does not arise. Hence, he prayed the Court to dismiss the criminal petition. 6.

In the light of the submissions made by the learned counsel on either side and upon a perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the petitioner was arrayed

as accused No.3. The allegation against the petitioner is that, along with accused No.1, he collected bank accounts of the victim for the purpose of cyber crime and induced the victim by stating that the accounts would be used for short-term investments, whereas the amounts were allegedly utilized for cheating the public. It is also evident that the petitioner was earlier implicated in Crime No.2934 of 2025 on similar allegations, in which he was arrested and subsequently released on bail. In the present case also, the allegations are of a similar nature. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court deemed it fit to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner, subject to the following conditions: i.

The petitioner shall surrender before the Station House Officer, V.M.

Banjara Police Station, Khammam District, within two weeks from today, and on such surrender, the said Station House Officer shall release him on bail on executing a personal bond for Rs.25,000/-, with two sureties, for the like sum each.

ii.

The petitioner shall abide by the other conditions stipulated in Section 482(2) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha

Sanhita, 2023 and co-operate with the Investigating Officer in investigating the case.

iii.

The petitioner shall appear before the concerned Investigating Officer on every Monday between 09:00 a.m, and 05:00 p.m., for a period of eight (8) weeks or till the filing of the charge sheet, whichever is earlier and thereafter, as and when required.

7.

Accordingly, this Criminal Petition is allowed. Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.

_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 19.01.2026 SAI

THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.52 of 2026 ` Date: 19.01.2026 SAI