VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday quashed 15 FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against government officials on disproportionate assets charges, citing that the cases were filed at an unnotified police station.
Justice N Harinath observed that the ACB’s Central Investigation Unit (CIU) office in Vijayawada was not notified as a police station through a gazette notification when the FIRs were registered. Therefore, he ruled, the FIRs lacked legal validity.
The 15 officials, employed across various departments, had filed separate petitions seeking to quash the FIRs. Their counsels argued that as per Section 2(s) of the Criminal Procedure Code, a gazette notification is mandatory to designate any location as a police station. They also cited Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates that only a Superintendent-level officer can authorise a case related to assets disproportionate to known sources of income.
The Advocate General opposed the petitions, stating that FIRs should not be dismissed on technical grounds. He cited a 2003 Government Order recognising the offices of Joint Directors in ACB divisions as police stations. He also referenced Sections 101 and 102 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, saying pre-bifurcation laws remain valid.
Further, he noted that a 2022 notification designated the ACB CIU in Vijayawada as a police station, which he argued allowed temporary legitimacy to earlier FIRs. After reviewing both sides, the court quashed all FIRs registered between 2016 and 2021.