Yarlagadda Sridhar v. The State Of Telangana
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT
HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE T.MADHAVI DEVI CRIMINAL PETITION No.6712 of 2026 Between:
Yarlagadda Sridhar and another ..Petitioners/Accused Nos.8 and 9 And The State of Telangana, through Public Prosecutor, The High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad.
..Respondent : 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 petitioners, who are arrayed as accused Nos.8 and 9 in Crime No.266 of 2023 of Central Crime Station, Hyderabad, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 406, 409 and 420 r/w 120(B) of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of
Depositors Of Financial Establishments Act, 1999 (for short 'TSPDFEA').
2.
The brief facts of the case are that on 16.09.2023, the de-facto complainant lodged a complaint stating that he was induced by the accused into investing money in their FMCG business on the promise of 2% profit every ten days (6% per month). Acting on their assurances, he transferred substantial amounts through distributors as instructed. Later, he discovered that the accused were allegedly diverting funds by withdrawing cash from distributors instead of actual business transactions and had similarly cheated several other persons. Hence, action was sought against the accused. 3.
Heard Sri S.Manikanth, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners as well as Sri Vivekananda Reddy, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.
4.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are arrayed as accused Nos. 8 and 9 and that, even
according to the de facto complainant, there is no allegation that any amount was deposited with the petitioners and that the petitioners are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the case. He further submitted that the petitioners have no previous criminal antecedents and that none of the allegations made in the complaint attract the offences alleged against them. The petitioners are ready and willing to cooperate with the Investigating Officer and that custodial interrogation of the petitioners is not required for the purpose of investigation and that Section 5 of the TSPDFEA is not applicable to them. Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioners by allowing this Criminal Petition.
5.
On the other hand, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner stating that the allegations leveled against the petitioners are serious in nature. 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 perusal of the material available on record, it prima facie appears that the petitioners are arrayed as accused Nos.8 and 9, and accused Nos.6 and 7 have already been granted pre-arrest bail by this Court in Crl.P.No.2840 of 2026 dated 16.03.2026. It is further observed that there are no specific allegations against the present petitioners and the principal allegations appear to be against accused Nos.1 and
2. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of the allegations against the petitioners, and the nature of the offences alleged, this Court deems it appropriate to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioners, subject to the following conditions:
i.
The petitioners shall surrender before the Station House Officer, Central Crime Station, Hyderabad 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/- each with two sureties, for the like sum each.
ii.
The petitioners 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 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.
_____________________ JUSTICE T.MADHAVI DEVI vsl/dpm
THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE T.MADHAVI DEVI CRIMINAL PETITION No.6712 of 2026 vsl/dpm