Allowed

Sammeta Lakshmi Madhava alias Sammeta Madhav v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh HC17 Sept 2026CRLP/7712/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court modified a pre-arrest bail order that had directed the petitioner to surrender before a Magistrate before being released on bail. The court held that anticipatory bail under Section 438 Cr.P.C. / Section 482 BNSS must direct release on bail in the event of arrest and cannot be made conditional upon surrender before a Magistrate. The petition was allowed and the bail order modified accordingly.

What did the court decide?

Pre-arrest bail order modified: petitioner to be released on bail upon arrest upon executing bond of Rs. 20,000 with two sureties to satisfaction of SHO, with conditions including weekly appearance before SHO, availability for investigation, non-interference with witnesses, and surrender of passport.

Sammeta Lakshmi Madhava alias Sammeta Madhav Vs The… — Anticipatory Bail | Andhra Pradesh HC (2026)

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[3521]

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APHC010461942026

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI

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(Special Original Jurisdiction)

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FRIDAY, THE 18^th DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2026

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE DR JUSTICE Y. LAKSHMANA RAO

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CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 7712/2026

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Between:

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SAMMETA LAKSHMI MADHAVA ALIAS SAMMETA MADHAV, S/O. NAGESWARA RAO,AGED 30 YEARS, R/O. AVULAVANIPALEM VILLAGE, PEDALANKA, GUNTUR DISTRICT,ANDHRA PRADESH.

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...PETITIONER/ACCUSED

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AND

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THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, Represented by its Public Prosecutor, HighCourt of Andhra Pradesh, High Court Buildings at Nelapadu, Guntur District,Andhra Pradesh.

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...RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT

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Counsel for the Petitioner/accused:

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V SAI KUMAR

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Counsel for the Respondent/complainant:

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PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

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Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.7712 of 2026 Dated 18.09.2026

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The Court made the following: ORDER:

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The Criminal Petition has been filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for brevity, ‘the Cr.P.C.,’)/Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity, ‘the BNSS’), seeking extension of time by four weeks to enable the Petitioner/Accused to surrender/appear before the learned II Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Tenali, in connection with Crl.M.P.No.136 of 2026 dated 09.07.2026, arising out of Crime No.61 of 2026 of Kolluru Police Station, which is pending on the file of the learned XI Additional District & Sessions Judge, Tenali.

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Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner and the learned Assistant Public Prosecutor. Perused the record.

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The learned counsel for the Petitioner submits that because of the supervening events, the Petitioner could not comply with the orders of the learned Trial Court.

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On perusal of the record, the learned XI Additional District & Sessions Judge, Tenali, by order dated 09.07.2026, granted pre-arrest bail to the Petitioner. However, the learned Sessions Judge directed the Petitioner/Accused to surrender before the learned II Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Tenali, within a period of fifteen days from the

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Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.7712 of 2026 Dated 18.09.2026

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date of the order, and upon such surrender, he shall be enlarged on bail subject to certain conditions.

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In this context, it is appropriate to refer to Section 438 of ‘the Cr.P.C.,’ /Section 482 of ‘the BNSS’. These provisions stipulate that while granting anticipatory bail, the learned Sessions Judge shall direct the Investigating Officer that, in the event of arrest, the accused shall be released on bail. Importantly, Section 438 of ‘the Cr.P.C.,’/Section 482 of ‘the BNSS’ does not contemplate a requirement that the Petitioner must surrender before the jurisdictional Magistrate and only upon such surrender be released on bail.

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An order of anticipatory bail must strictly conform to the procedure laid down under Section 438 of ‘the Cr.P.C.,’/Section 482 of ‘the BNSS’, and not otherwise. The learned Sessions Judge ought to have directed that, in the event of arrest, the Petitioner shall be enlarged on bail subject to conditions to the satisfaction of the Station House Officer concerned.

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The Hon’ble Apex Court, in Adri Dharan Das v. State of West Bengal¹ , at paragraph No.7, held that, in view of the settled legal position, an order under Section 438 of ‘the Cr.P.C.,’ becomes operative upon the arrest of the accused and is intended to secure his immediate release on bail without being sent to custody. Therefore, the relief of anticipatory bail

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1 (2005) 4 SCC 303

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Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.7712 of 2026 Dated 18.09.2026

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cannot ordinarily be converted into or made conditional upon surrender before the concerned Court.

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Further, the High Court of Madras in S. Swaminathan v. State² , at paragraph No.61 explained that an order directing an accused to surrender before the Magistrate and then be released on bail is not an order of anticipatory bail under Section 438 of ‘the Cr.P.C.,’ but an order of regular bail. Anticipatory bail is intended to protect a person from arrest in a nonbailable offence, so that if arrested, he is immediately released on bail without being sent to custody. Thus, the procedure for anticipatory bail and regular bail are distinct and cannot be mixed.

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This Court in T. Gevanamma v. State of A.P. ,³ wherein at paragraph Nos.4 and 5, held that while granting anticipatory bail under Section 438 of ‘the Cr.P.C.,’/Section 482 of ‘the BNSS.,’ the Court must direct that the accused be released on bail in the event of arrest. The provision does not contemplate a direction requiring the accused to first surrender before the Magistrate and then seek release on bail. Any anticipatory bail order must strictly follow the statutory procedure, and the accused can be released upon arrest subject to conditions imposed by the Court.

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Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the order of the learned Trial Court on 09.07.2026 passed on order in CRL.M.P.No.136 of

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22008 SCC OnLine Mad 903

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32026 LiveLaw (AP) 151

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Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.7712 of 2026 Dated 18.09.2026

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2026, granting pre-arrest bail to the Petitioner herein is slightly modified as

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under:

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i. In the event of the arrest of the Petitioner, he shall be enlarged on bail by executing a bond for a sum of Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand Only) with two sureties for the like sum to the satisfaction of the Station House Officer concerned.

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ii. The petitioner/Accused shall make himself available for investigation as and when required;

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iii. The petitioner/Accused shall not cause any threat, inducement or promise to the prosecution witnesses iv. The petitioner/Accused shall appear before the Station House Officer concerned once in a week i.e., on every Saturday between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00

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p.m., till filing of the charge sheet.

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v. The petitioner/Accused shall not leave the limits of the State of Andhra Pradesh without the express permission from the Station House Officer concerned.

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vi. The petitioner/Accused shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so

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Dr.YLR,J Crl.P.No.7712 of 2026 Dated 18.09.2026

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as to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to

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the Court.

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vii. The Petitioner/Accused shall surrender his passport, if any, to the Investigating Officer. If he claims that he does not have passport, he shall submit affidavits to that effect to the Investigating Officer.

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