Pechetti Manga Devi, v. State Of Telangana
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT
HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.6425 and 6434 of 2026 DATE: 05.05.2026 Between:
CRIMINAL PETITION No.6425 of 2026 Between:
Pechetti Manga Devi .... Petitioner/ Accused No.2 AND State of Telangana, Rep. by P.P., High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad.
.... Respondent/ Respondent CRIMINAL PETITION No.6434 of 2026 Pechetti Murali Venu .... Petitioner/ Accused No.1 AND State of Telangana, Rep. by P.P., High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad.
.... Respondent/ Respondent
COMMON ORDER Criminal Petition Nos.6425 of 2026 and 6434 of 2026 are filed under Section 480 and 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'BNSS') by the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 seeking enlargement on bail in connection with Crime No.145 of 2026 before the Borabanda Police Station, Hyderabad, registered for the offence punishable under Section 80 of BNS read with 3(5) of BNS.
2.
The case of the prosecution is that on 13.03.2026, the defacto complainant, who is the owner of the house, lodged a report before the police stating that A-1 along with his family members, including his wife (deceased), children, and parents, were residing as tenants in the second-floor portion of his house on a monthly rent of Rs.10,000/-. It is alleged that A-1 was working as a helper in the Electricity Department and his mother (A-2) was working as housekeeping staff in Reddy Labs, while his father (A-3) was suffering from kidney-related ailments and undergoing dialysis since 2019. On 13.03.2026, a quarrel took place between A-1 and his wife Satyaveni over petty issues, and they did not speak to each other throughout the day. At about 6:00 p.m., A-1 along with his mother took A-3 to ESI Hospital for dialysis, and after returning home, they found Satyaveni hanging from a ceiling fan with a saree
tied around her neck, while their daughter was found crying and their son was found dead. Upon receiving information, the de-facto complainant visited the house and observed the same, and alleged that due to the quarrel in the morning, the deceased had committed suicide after killing her son and attempting to kill her daughter. Based on the said report, a case was initially registered under Section 103(1) of BNS and Section 194 of BNSS, and later altered to Section 80 read with 3(5) of BNS. The petitioners were arrested on 16.03.2026 and remanded to judicial custody on the same day.
3.
Heard Sri P. Prabhakar Reddy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners as well as Sri Ramachandra Reddy, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.
4.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are innocent of the allegations and have been falsely implicated in the present case and that the complaint and witness statements only disclose a petty matrimonial quarrel between the A-1 and the deceased, and there are no specific allegations of dowry demand or harassment "soon before death," which is a mandatory ingredient to attract the offence under Section 80 of the BNS. Even the statements of LWs.2 to 5 contain only general
allegations, and the alleged phone conversation dated 13.03.2026 does not indicate any dowry-related harassment, but merely reflects a domestic dispute. He further submitted that the petitioners have been in judicial custody since 16.03.2026 and that the material part of the investigation has already been completed. Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant regular bail to the petitioners by allowing this Criminal Petitions. 5.
On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners, contending that the allegations against the petitioners are severe and grave in nature and that the investigation is still in progress. Given the gravity of the offence and the serious nature of the allegations, the petitioners are not entitled to bail and prayed the Court to dismiss the petitions.
6.
Having regard to the rival submissions made by both sides and upon perusal of the material placed on record, it is observed that the petitioners have been in judicial custody since 16.03.2026. A careful consideration of the allegations, particularly the contents of the suicide note left by the deceased, prima facie discloses specific and direct allegations against accused No.1. In view of the nature and gravity of the accusations and the material available on record, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to accused No.1 at
this stage. However, insofar as accused No.2 is concerned, she is a woman and has been in judicial custody since 16.03.2026. The material on record indicates that the primary and specific allegations are mainly directed against accused No.1, and the role attributed to accused No.2 appears to be general in nature. Considering the said aspects, coupled with the period of detention and the stage of investigation, this Court finds it appropriate to grant bail to Accused No.2 and the bail application of Accused No.1 is accordingly dismissed. The grant of bail to Accused No.2 shall be subject to the following conditions:
i.
The accused No.2 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 III Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nampally, Hyderabad.
ii.
The accused No.2 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 accused No.2 shall abide by the conditions stipulated in Section 437(3) of
Cr.P.C. (presently, Section 480(3) of the BNSS).
7.
Accordingly, Criminal Petition No.6425 of 2026 is allowed and the Criminal Petition No.6434 of 2026 is dismissed. Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.
_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 05.05.2026 SS
THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.6425 and 6434 of 2026 Date: 05.05.2026 SS