Bail is granted by the court based on the principle of parity with a co-accused, the lack of prior criminal antecedents, and the mitigating circumstance of the petitioner being a student facing examinations.

Petition under Section 437/438/439/482 of Cr.P.C and 528 of BNSS praying that in the circumstances stated in the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition, the High Court pleased to enlarge the petitioner/Accused 3 on regular bail in connection with Crime No. 104 of 2026 of Arilova P.S, Visakhapatnam District, and pass

The Court made the following:

ORDER:

This Criminal Petition has been filed by the petitioner/A.3 under Section 480 and 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for grant of bail in Crime No.104 of 2026 of Arilova Police Station, Visakhapatnam District, registered against the petitioner and other accused with the allegation of committing the offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

2. Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner/A.3 and Sri K. Sandeep, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor representing Respondent/State.

3. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the petitioner, along with three others, was found in possession of contraband ganja weighing 3.09 kilograms on 21.04.2026. The petitioner herein was arrested and remanded to judicial custody, and the investigation is still pending. The remand report, however, discloses that all the accused are students pursuing a Hotel Management course at SUN College and are allegedly addicted to smoking ganja.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner's examinations are scheduled to commence shortly. It is further submitted that a Coordinate Bench of this Court, by order dated 29.05.2026 in Crl.P. No. 4521 of 2026, granted bail to A.1 and that the case of the petitioner/A.3 stands on the same footing. On the ground of parity, it is prayed that the petitioner may also be enlarged on bail.

5. Learned Assistant Public Prosecutor, appearing for the respondent State, opposed the bail application and contended that the petitioner is not entitled to the grant of bail in the facts and circumstances of the case.

6. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the quantity of ganja allegedly involved, the absence of any material indicating the petitioner's involvement in other criminal cases, the fact that all the accused are students, and the submission that the petitioner's examinations are scheduled to commence from 08.06.2026, this Court is of the view that no useful purpose would be served by continuing the petitioner's detention in judicial custody. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is allowed, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The petitioner/A.3 shall be released on bail on executing a personal bond for Rs.25,000/- (Rupees twenty five thousand only) with two sureties each to the satisfaction of learned I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam.

2) The petitioner/A.3 shall furnish the details of his passport, if any, before the concerned Police Station within fifteen (15) days of his release. The police shall be at liberty to take appropriate steps in accordance with law for regulating foreign travel, if any, by the petitioner. The petitioner shall not leave India without obtaining prior permission from the jurisdictional Court.

3) The petitioner and his sureties shall furnish their permanent residential addresses and identity particulars to the concerned police within fifteen (15) days from the date of the petitioner's release. They shall also keep the police informed of any change in their residential address or contact particulars from time to time.

As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Criminal Petition, shall stand closed.