Athram Nago Rao, v. The State Of Telangana, Through S.H.O., Prohibition And Excise, Echoda P.S., Adilabad District,
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT
HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.301 of 2026 DATE: 21.01.2026 Between:
Athram Nago Rao .... Petitioner/accused AND The State of Telangana, Through SHO, Prohibition and Excise, Echoda P.S., Adilabad District, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court at Hyderabad.
.... Respondent ORDER:
This Criminal Petition is filed seeking the Court to enlarge the petitioner on bail, who is arrayed as accused in COR.No.310 of 2025, on the file of Prohibition and Excise, Echoda Police Station, Adilabad District,
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 8(b) r/w 20(b)(i) of the NDPS Act, 1985.
2.
The brief facts of the case are that on 16.12.2025, the de-facto complainant on reliable information about the illegal cultivation of Ganja plants had conducted an inspection and found 25 ganja plants in the land of the accused and immediately he seized the contraband in the presence of panchas. The accused was arrested and remanded to the judicial custody and a case was registered against him for the above said offences. 3.
Heard Sri Rudresh Deshpande, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Sri Arun Kumar Doddla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for respondent-State.
4.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is innocent of the alleged offences and even according to the prosecution, they only seized 25 ganja plants and the weight is not mentioned in the seizure report and he is in jail since 16.12.2025 and the material part of the investigation was already completed.
Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant 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 alleged offences are of the NDPS Act and the seized ganja plants are from the land of the petitioner herein, therefore, he is not entitled for the bail at this stage. However, he informed that there is no weight mentioned in the seizure report and prayed the Court to dismiss the criminal petition. 6.
In the light of the submissions made by both the learned counsel and upon perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the petitioner herein is in jail from 16.12.2025 and the seized contraband is 25 ganja plants and the weight is not mentioned in the seizure report and when the weight is not mentioned in the seizure report, it has to be taken as an intermediate quantity. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of the allegations, the stage of investigation, the duration of incarceration and the seized
quantity, this Court finds it appropriate to grant bail to the petitioner/accused, subject to the following conditions:
i.
The petitioner/accused shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only), with two sureties for a like sum each to the satisfaction of the learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, at Boath, Adilabad District.
ii.
The petitioner/accused shall appear before the concerned SHO at 11:00 a.m., on every Monday for a period of eight (8) week or till filing of charge sheet whichever is earlier, for the purpose of investigation, and thereafter, as and when required.
iii.
The petitioner/accused shall abide by the conditions stipulated in
Section 437(3) of Cr.P.C. (presently, Section 480(3) of the BNSS).
7.
Accordingly, the Criminal petition is allowed. Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.
_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 21.01.2026 TU
THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.301 of 2026 Date:21.01.2026 TU