Srusthi surrogacy case: Telangana HC grants statutory bail to Dr Namratha
The relief was granted in five criminal revision petitions filed by Dr Namratha
By - Newsmeter Network
Dr. Athaluri, also known as Pachipala Namratha, owner of Srusthi Fertility Center
Hyderabad: Telangana High Court on Wednesday granted statutory bail to a medical practitioner accused in a series of cases linked to alleged fraudulent surrogacy rackets.
The court said the police’s failure to file a chargesheet within the stipulated time violated her legal right to bail.
Five revision petitions allowed
The relief was granted in five criminal revision petitions filed by Dr. Athaluri, also known as Pachipala Namratha (Srusthi Fertility Center), after a lower court had refused to grant her statutory bail under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
In jail since July 27
The petitioner submitted that she had been in judicial custody since July 27, 2025, and that all the criminal cases registered against her arose from a single chain of surrogacy-related transactions, making them inseparably connected.
Single custody applies to all cases
Accepting this argument, the High Court relied on settled legal principles to hold that when multiple connected cases originate from the same police station, custody in one case must be treated as deemed custody in all related cases.
All the FIRs, the court said, were registered by Gopalapuram Police Station and formed part of a continuing course of conduct.
Police lapse favours accused
The court came down heavily on the investigating agencies for failing to formally show the petitioner’s remand in the connected cases, despite her being in custody at the time of registration of the FIRs. Such a lapse, the court observed, cannot be used to deny an accused her indefeasible right to default bail.
Charge sheet delay proves fatal
The judge noted that the statutory periods of 81 to 95 days, calculated from the dates of registration of the FIRs, had expired without the filing of charge sheets, thereby making the accused entitled to bail as a matter of right.
Final Outcome
In view of the above findings, the High Court allowed all five revision petitions and ordered the release of the accused on statutory bail in all the connected criminal cases.
