Overview
- The decision revives FIRs filed by the ACB’s Central Investigation Unit in Vijayawada between 2016 and 2020 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
- The Court termed the High Court’s approach a “travesty of justice,” rejecting hyper-technical objections under Section 2(s) of the CrPC.
- It found that the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and a 2022 clarificatory order sustained the CIU’s statewide police-station authority without a new notification.
- The High Court is restrained from hearing further challenges on the same jurisdictional ground, though accused may still contest chargesheets on other legal bases.
- Investigations may resume statewide with no arrests or coercive steps during pending probes, with one report noting a six-month window for filing final reports.