THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE J.SREENIVASRAO CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.4153 and 4157 of 2025

COMMON ORDER

Criminal Petition No.4153 of 2025 is filed under Section

482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, ‘BNSS’) by the petitioners, seeking anticipatory bail in Crime No.7 of 2025 of Panjagutta Police Station, Hyderabad registered as woman missing case.

2. Criminal Petition No.4157 of 2025 is filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, ‘BNSS’) by the petitioners, seeking anticipatory bail in Crime No.8 of 2025 of Madhapur Police Station, Cyberabad registered for the offence punishable under Section 108 read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

3. The petitioners in both the criminal petitions are seeking anticipatory bail in Crime No.7 of 2025 of Panjagutta Police Station and Crime No.8 of 2025 of Madhapur Police Station respectively, on the very same grounds. Therefore, both the criminal petitions are clubbed together and disposed by way of this common order.

4. The case of prosecution in brief is that on 02.01.2025 at 11.00 PM, de-facto complainant-Adepu Prabhu lodged a report alleging that at around 11.00 AM, he left the house for his work as Chief Editor at Suman TV and returned around 8.00 PM, before returning, he called his wife Durga Madhavi (deceased) twice but no response. Upon arriving home, he unlocked the door with key available with him, found his wife was not there, assuming that she might have gone for a walk or to a neighbour's house, he waited for some time and called her again, this time, he heard her phone ringing inside the house, and he found the phone on the bed of 2nd bed room, suspecting that she had left the house without her phone, caused enquiries with neighbours, but they had not seen her. Then he called his younger daughter- Spandana, who asked him not to worry and to check for any messages on her phone, and upon checking the phone, he discovered a video recording containing a suicide note. Basing on report of LW.1, a case was registered in Crime No. 7/2025 for the offence under Woman missing. During the course of investigation, on 03.01.2025 at 8.00 AM, an unidentified female body was traced in Durgam Cheruvu, and a case had been registered at Madhapur PS vide Crime No.8/2024 under Section 194 of BNSS. Later the dead body was identified as the body of complainant's wife i.e., missing woman in this case. During the course of investigation, re-examined LW.1 and recorded his statement. Basing on the evidence collected and basing on self-recorded suicide video of deceased, involvement of petitioners herein came into light and altered section of law from Section 194 of BNSS to Section 108 of BNS.

5. Heard Mr. Lakshmikanth Reddy Desai, learned counsel for the petitioners, Mr.Syed Yasar Mamoon, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for respondent-State in both the petitions and Mr. G.Rajesham, learned counsel for respondent No.2/de-facto-complainant in Criminal Petition No.4153 of 2025.

6.1 Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners have not committed any offence and there are no allegations either in the complaint lodged by de-facto complainant/respondent No.2 in Crime No.7 of 2025 or in Crime No.8 of 2025 against the petitioner and the petitioners have not made as accused in both the crimes. However, at the instance of de-facto-complainant/respondentNo.2 (hereinafter referred as ‘respondent No.2’), the police are trying to implicate the petitioners as accused to resolve the property and financial disputes and to arrest them in the above said crimes.

6.2 He further submitted that initially Crime No.7 of 2025 was registered as woman missing basing upon the complaint lodged by respondent No.2 and Crime No.8 of 2025 was registered basing upon the complaint lodged by the Police Constable namely, Mr.G.Srisailam under Section 194 of BNSS, on the file of Madhapur Police Station. However, basing upon the statement gi