Kasagoni 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.1079 of 2026 DATE: 06.02.2026 BETWEEN:

Kasagoni Santhosh.

... Petitioner/Accused No.2 And The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court, Hyderabad and another.

..... 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.2 in Crime No.5 of 2026 before the Regonda Police Station, Jayashankar Bhupalpally District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4), 336(3) and 340 read with 3(5) of BNS.

2.

The brief facts of the case are that, the de facto complainant, who is the Tahsildar of Regonda Mandal, lodged a

report before the police stating that an online application for issuance of a caste certificate in the name of the petitioner (A1) was submitted on 01.12.2025. Based on the said application, a caste certificate was issued on 02.12.2025 certifying her as belonging to the Gandla (BC-B) caste.

However, upon verification conducted on 02.01.2026, it was found that A1 actually belongs to the Reddy (OC) community. Further enquiry revealed that the application had been submitted by A2, a Mee Seva operator of Manjurnagar, Bhupalpally Mandal and others with mala fide intention to mislead Governmetn officials and fraudulently obtain the caste certificate.

3.

Heard Dr.N.Ravi Kumar, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner/accused No.2 as well as Sri D. Arun Kumar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.

4.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent of the offences alleged against him has been falsely implicated in this case; that accused No.1 approached this Court and obtained bail; that the petitioner is ready to cooperate with investigation and he undertakes to abide the conditions which are imposed by this Court and

hence, he prays this Court to grant Anticipatory Bail to the petitioner.

5.

On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the same submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and stating that the petitioner misled Government officials by uploading irrelevant documents and, therefore, custodial interrogation is necessary for the purpose of further investigation. At this stage, granting pre-arrest bail to the petitioner does not arise, and hence prayed that the Court dismiss the Criminal Petition.

6.

In light of the submissions made by both learned counsel and upon perusal of the material available on record, it is observed that the petitioner is arrayed as accused No.2, with the allegation that the allegations levelled against the petitioner are primarily based on documentary evidence. Considering the same, custodial interrogation of the petitioner does not require at this stage. In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court deems 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, Regonda Police Station, Jayashankar Bhupalpally 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, 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., 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: 06.02.2026 YVL

THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.1079 of 2026 Date: 06.02.2026 YVL