Telangana High Court
Saragandla Krishnaiah vs The State Of Telangana on 6 May, 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA
AT HYDERABAD
THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA
CRIMINAL PETITION No.6444 of 2026
DATE: 06.05.2026
BETWEEN:
Saragandla Krishnaiah
..... Petitioner/Accused No.8
And
The State of Telangana,
Through its Public Prosecutor,
High Court at Hyderabad.
..... Respondent/Complainant
ORDER
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 petitioner, who is arrayed as accused No.8 in Crime No.29 of 2026 before the Cyber Crime Police Station (TSCSB), registered for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4), 112 and 338 of BNS and Section 66(D) of IT Act-2008. 2
SKS,J Crl.P.No.6444 of 2026
2. The brief facts of the case are that during analysis of complaints received through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), certain bank accounts were found linked to cyber fraud complaints and were allegedly used as first or second layer receiving accounts for fraudulent transactions. Based on the preliminary verification conducted by the Cyber Crime Police, a suo-motu FIR was registered against the petitioner and others alleging their involvement in receiving fraud proceeds and converting them into cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer transactions on the Binance platform.
3. Heard Sri K. Nishwitha Reddy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Sri M. Ramachandra Reddy, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated and that he participated in cryptocurrency trading through the Binance application after completing KYC verification and carried out only peer-to-peer transactions involving crypto assets like USDT through regular banking channels such as UPI and bank transfers. The petitioner claim that they themselves were victims of an online 3 SKS,J Crl.P.No.6444 of 2026 trading scam and have already submitted a representation to the Director General of Police seeking investigation against the real offenders. He contended that the FIR does not attribute any specific overt acts to the petitioner, the alleged offences are punishable with imprisonment below seven years, custodial interrogation is unnecessary as the transactions are traceable through digital records. He further submitted that Accused Nos.15, 14, 17, 21, 13 and 3 others were granted anticipatory bail in the same crime and prayed the Court to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner by allowing this Criminal Petition.
5. On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the grant of anticipatory bail contending that the investigation revealed that the accused were actively involved in P2P cryptocurrency trading and were intentionally purchasing cryptocurrency at lower prices and selling it at higher prices to facilitate conversion of cyber fraud proceeds into cryptocurrency. He further submitted that the accused knowingly received fraud proceeds in their bank accounts and immediately converted them into crypto assets, thereby assisting cyber criminals in laundering money and concealing the trail of crime proceeds. Despite certain bank accounts being frozen or marked with lien, the accused allegedly continued the transactions through multiple bank 4 SKS,J Crl.P.No.6444 of 2026 accounts to evade detection and that several complaints are linked to the bank accounts of the accused and further investigation is required to trace financial trails, bank accounts and crypto wallets. Therefore, he prayed the Court to dismiss the Criminal Petition.
6. In the light of the submissions made by both the learned counsel and on perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the present crime has been registered based on the analysis of complaints received through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The material on record discloses that certain bank accounts were allegedly linked to cyber fraud transactions and were suspected to have been used as receiving accounts for fraudulent proceeds, which were subsequently converted into cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer transactions on the platform of Binance. The petitioner is arrayed as accused No.8, and the principal allegation against him is that he opened and operated multiple bank accounts to receive and route the proceeds of cyber fraud. These accounts were allegedly utilized for layering transactions and converting illicit funds into cryptocurrency through P2P trading. It is further alleged that despite several accounts being flagged, frozen, or placed under lien by law enforcement authorities, the petitioner continued such activities by opening new accounts across different banks, thereby 5 SKS,J Crl.P.No.6444 of 2026 attempting to evade detection. Such conduct, prima facie, indicates the existence of mens rea and active involvement in an organized cyber fraud network. Considering the gravity and seriousness of the allegations and the stage of investigation, this Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner and there are no merits in this Criminal Petition, and the same is liable to be dismissed.
7. Accordingly, this Criminal Petition is dismissed.
Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.
_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 06.05.2026 SS