Tataji Santhosh 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.923 of 2026 DATE: 02.02.2026 BETWEEN:

Tataji Santhosh.

...petitioners/accused No.5 And The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad.

.....Respondent/complainant

O R D E R

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.5 in Crime No.13 of 2026 before the Echoda Police Station, Adilabad District, registered for the offences punishable under Section 316(5), 318(4) read with 3(5) of BNS.

2.

The brief facts of the case are that on 08.01.2026, the Sub-Inspector of Police, Echoda Police Station, while

conducting vehicle checking at Mukra (K) Village on NH-44, apprehended one Mule Maruthi, who was found in possession of cash of Rs.30,500/- along with cotton selling chits. Upon enquiry, he allegedly confessed to his involvement, along with others, in cheating the Government Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) by manipulating weighment of cotton on 15.12.2025 and 16.12.2025, thereby causing wrongful loss to the CCI. Based on the said confession and seizure, a suo motu case was registered in Crime No.13 of 2026 for the above said offences.

3.

Heard Sri S. Ravi Kiran Reddy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners 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 registration of the crime against the petitioner was an abuse of process of law and that the police registered the FIR without conducting any preliminary enquiry and that the petitioner is an agriculturist and he had no connection whatsoever with the alleged offence, and that Section 316(5) of the BNS was

wrongly invoked only to circumvent the safeguards under the BNSS. He further submitted that the petitioner was being falsely implicated without any material. 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 levelled against the petitioner are serious in nature. He further submitted that the investigation was not yet completed, as such, the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is required. Therefore, he prayed the Court to dismiss the Criminal Petition. 6.

In the light of the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, and upon a perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the petitioner are as accused No.5 in the present crime. Further, the allegations against petitioner Nos.1 and 2/accused Nos.4 and 7 are that they, along with the other accused, misappropriated the subject cotton for the second time and thereby caused a loss of about Rs.3.70 lakhs.

As seen from the record, the material part of the investigation has been completed and the witnesses have already been examined. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court is of the considered view that custodial interrogation of petitioner No.5 is not necessary, and therefore deems it fit to grant pre-arrest bail to petitioner No.5, subject to the following conditions:

i.

The petitioner/accused No.5 shall surrender before the Station House Officer, Echoda Police Station, Adilabad District, within two weeks from today, and on such surrender, the said Station House Officer shall release them on bail on executing a personal bond for Rs.25,000/-, with two sureties, for the like sum each.

ii.

The petitioner/accused No.5 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/accused No.5 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: 02.02.2026 YVL

THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.445 of 2026 ` Date: 23.01.2026 SAI