IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE J.SREENIVAS RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.16128 of 2025 Date: 05.12.2025 Between:

Sanketh Konduri ...Petitioners AND The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of Telangana, Hyderabad and another ...Respondents

Order

This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioner seeking to quash the proceedings in Crime No.06 of 2025, on the file of the Cyber Crime Police Station, Siddipet, for the offences punishable under Sections 192, 353(1)(b), 352 and 356 r/w 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha, 2023 (for short ‘BNS’) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2008 (for short ‘IT Act’).

2. Heard Mr.P.Siddharth, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.Jithender Rao Veeramalla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for respondent No.1-State.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner has not committed any offence and his name was not mentioned in the complaint. However, the Investigating Officer issued notice under Section 41-A of Cr.P.C./Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, ‘BNSS’) on 18.11.2025. Pursuant to the same, petitioner submitted reply on 21.11.2025 through email. He further submitted that another notice was sent to petitioner on 02.12.2025, without following the procedure contemplated under Section 41-A of the Cr.P.C./Section 35(3) of the BNSS as well as the guidelines formulated by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar Vs. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273

4. Per contra, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that, during the course of investigation, the petitioner was added as accused No.5 and the entire investigation has been completed. He further submitted that the mobile phones of accused Nos.1 to 4 were sent to the FSL and the report is awaited. He also submitted that the Investigating Officer will follow the procedure contemplated under Section 41-A of the Cr.P.C./Section 35(3) of the BNSS, as well as the guidelines formulated by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar’s case (supra).

5. This Court considered the rival submissions made by the respective parties and perused the material available on record. Even according to the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, petitioner was arrayed as accused No.5 the crime. Hence, the Investigating Officer issued notice under Section 41-A of Cr.P.C./Section 35(3) of the BNSS on 18.11.2025. Pursuant to the same, petitioner submitted reply on 21.11.2025 through email. However, another notice under Section 41-A of Cr.P.C./Section 35(3) of the BNSS was issued to petitioner on 02.12.2025.

6. In view of the same, the petitioner is granted liberty to submit his reply by enclosing all relevant documents before the Investigating Officer. The Investigating Officer is directed to follow the guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in Arnesh Kumar’s case (supra).

7. With the above direction, the criminal petition is disposed of.

Miscellaneous applications, pending if any, shall stand closed.

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J.SREENIVAS RAO, J Date: 05.12.2025 Note: Issue CC in three days b/o vsl