Naresh Eerla 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.6436 of 2026 DATE: 05.05.2026 BETWEEN:

Naresh Eerla .....petitioner/accused 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 in Crime No.129 of 2026 before the Narsampet Police

Station, Warangal District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4) and 316(5) of BNS. 2.

The brief facts of the case are that the de-facto complainant had been running a recovery agency in partnership with SBI Bank, Narsampet, for several years, wherein the petitioner worked as a recovery agent. It was alleged that the petitioner collected EMI amounts from customers but, instead of depositing them in the bank, diverted the amounts to his personal account, causing a loss of about Rs.15,00,000/-. Based on the complaint dated 06.04.2026, the police registered FIR in Crime No.129 of 2026 for the offences under Sections 318(4) and 316(5) BNS. 3.

Heard Sri S. Sudarshan, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Sri M. Ramachander Reddy, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.

4.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner was falsely implicated due to personal grudge after he refused to rejoin the complainant's agency and that the

allegations were baseless, as EMI payments were directly made by customers to the bank and not through the agent. He further submitted that there was an unexplained delay of about eight years in lodging the complaint and that multiple inconsistent complaints were previously filed by the complainant and that the dispute was civil in nature, the petitioner had no criminal intent, and custodial interrogation was not required. Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner by allowing this Criminal Petition.

5.

Learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the petition, submitting that the allegations disclosed a cognizable offence involving misappropriation of substantial amounts collected from customers and that the investigation was at a preliminary stage and the petitioner's role required thorough examination, including tracing the diverted funds. Therefore, at this stage, granting of pre-arrest bail to the petitioners does not arise. Hence, he prayed the Court to dismiss the criminal petition.

6.

In the light of the submissions made by both the learned counsel and upon a perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the dispute primarily arises out of a monetary transaction between the parties and requires detailed investigation. The main allegation against the petitioner is that, while working as a recovery agent, he collected EMI amounts from customers and misappropriated the same instead of depositing them with the bank. As seen from the record, there is a considerable delay in lodging the complaint and the matter appears to have elements of a civil dispute, and no specific material is placed to show the necessity of custodial interrogation at this stage. Considering 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, Narasampet Police Station, Warangal 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/-, each 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 Wednesday 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.

8.

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

_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 05.05.2026 SAI

THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.6436 of 2026 Date: 05.05.2026 SAI