NEW DELHI: Terming the approach of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in quashing a batch of FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) “travesty of justice”, the Supreme Court on Thursday said the FIRs could not be quashed on the ground that the ACB’s Central Investigation Unit in Vijayawada was not duly notified as a “police station” under Section 2(s) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
“In our considered view, the approach of the High Court is nothing but a travesty of justice. If, on a hyper-technical ground, the FIRs are quashed, the High Court is duty-bound to lay down the law with respect to the jurisdiction that otherwise exists,” said a two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, in the 33-page judgment copy, accessed by TNIE.
While setting aside the AP HC judgment, the SC restored the FIRs, and permitted the ACB to proceed with the investigations, while directing that no coercive steps be taken against the accused during the pendency of investigation.