The Supreme Court of India has stepped in to revive a batch of corruption cases in Andhra Pradesh, overturning a High Court decision that had quashed multiple FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The top court held that the High Court adopted an overly technical approach that stalled investigations under the Prevention of Corruption Act and resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
Background of the Case
The appeals arose from a series of FIRs registered between 2016 and 2020 by the ACB’s Central Investigation Unit at Vijayawada. These cases involved allegations under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Accused persons approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court, arguing that the Vijayawada-based ACB unit was never formally notified as a “police station” under Section 2(s) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Accepting this argument, the High Court quashed the FIRs, holding that the investigating agency lacked jurisdiction.
This effectively halted investigations in some matters and brought criminal proceedings in others to a complete stop.
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The High Court ruled that:
- A specific notification declaring the ACB unit at Vijayawada as a police station was mandatory.
- Government orders and circulars issued earlier were insufficient.
- A later clarification issued by the Andhra Pradesh government in 2022 could not apply retrospectively.
On this basis, all the FIRs were set aside, without even clarifying which authority would have jurisdiction instead.
Supreme Court’s Observations
A bench led by Justice M.M. Sundresh strongly disagreed with this reasoning.
“The approach of the High Court is nothing but a travesty of justice,” the bench observed, noting that corruption investigations were scuttled on hyper-technical grounds.
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The Court explained that long before state bifurcation, the Andhra Pradesh government had issued a 2003 notification declaring ACB offices as police stations with statewide jurisdiction. Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, such laws and notifications continued to operate unless expressly repealed or amended.
The judges stressed that the law must be applied in substance, not reduced to a rigid checklist. “When a clarification is issued to explain the existing legal position, there is no question of retrospective application,” the bench said, rejecting the High Court’s view on the 2022 government order.
The Supreme Court relied on settled principles that apply when a state is reorganised. It reiterated that administrative orders, notifications, and laws of the undivided state continue to be valid in successor states to avoid legal vacuum and chaos.
“If such continuity is not recognised,” the bench warned, “it would create lawlessness and allow offenders to act with impunity.”
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Decision of the Court
Allowing the appeals filed by the ACB, the Supreme Court:
- Set aside the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment.
- Restored all FIRs that were quashed on jurisdictional grounds.
- Permitted the Anti-Corruption Bureau to resume investigations.
- Directed that final reports be filed within six months.
- Ordered that no coercive steps, including arrest, be taken against the accused during the investigation.
- Barred further challenges to the FIRs before the High Court on the same jurisdiction issue.
The Court clarified that accused persons would still be free to raise other legal objections, but only after investigations are completed.
With this ruling, the stalled corruption cases are back on track, bringing renewed momentum to long-pending probes.
Case Title: The Joint Director (Rayalaseema), Anti-Corruption Bureau, A.P. vs Dayam Peda Ranga Rao & Others
Case No.: Criminal Appeal arising out of SLP (Crl) Nos. 14321–14333 of 2025
Decision Date: January 8, 2026
