Laws Applicable To Andhra Pradesh Continue To Apply To New States Of Telangana & AP After Bifurcation : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on January 2 clarified that all laws applicable to the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh would continue to apply to the newly carved out States of Telangana & AP till such time the laws were altered, repealed, or amended. A bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal set aside a common judgment passed by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh wherein proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 were quashed on grounds that the offences alleged were within the jurisdiction of the Andhra Pradesh, even after the bifurcation of the erstwhile State. Further, since the FIRs on the said offences were registered by the CBI Hyderabad, after the transfer to Andhra Pradesh jurisdiction, the consent of the new State of Andhra Pradesh was needed under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 for the CBI to investigate, the High Court held. The High Court found that since no consent was there, the proceedings were vitiated. On the contrary, the Supreme Court held that explicit consent was not required under the 1946 legislation since the accused were officers of the Central Government. Facts of case The CBI has challenged the judgment of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh dated April 13, 2023 passed in two writ petitions (26990/2021 and 5441/2022). In the first writ petition, the case arises from the FIR registered against the first Respondent for the offences under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act). As per the allegation, the first Respondent was working as Superintendent, Central Excise, Nandyal, District of Andhra Pradesh. In the second appeal, against the first Respondent, FIR was registered under Section 7 of the PC Act against an accused working as Accounts Assistant in the office of Senior Divisional Financial Manager, Guntakal. In both cases, chargesheets were filed before the Court of Principal, Special Judge for CBI, Hyderabad. In both cases, cognisance was taken on July 17, 2018 and August 3, 2018 respectively. On March 28, 2019, CBI, policy division order, redefining the territorial jurisdiction of the CBI, ACB, Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam branches was issued. On September 3, 2019, the High Court of Telangana issued a notification regarding the jurisdiction of four Rayalaseema Districts of the State of Andhra Pradesh, namely: Kurnool, Kadappa, Chittoor and Ananthapur. The notice was issued for their inclusion in the jurisdiction of the CBI Court, Vishakhapatnam, by deleting the same from the jurisdiction of the CBI Courts at Hyderabad. On June 2, 2014, the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, bifurcated Andhra Pradesh into the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. However, despite the geographical bifurcation, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh continued to have jurisdiction over both States till December 2018. The first FIR occurred within the limits of Kurnool District and the second FIR occurred within the jurisdictional limits of Ananthapur, both were in the new Andhra Pradesh state after the bifurcation. After the High Court of Telangana's notification, the cases were accordingly transferred to CBI Court, Vishakhapatnam and later to the Court of Special Judge, CBI Cases, Kurnool. Therefore, the respective first Respondents moved writ petitions before the Andhra Pradesh High Court arguing that the consent of the Andhra Pradesh Government was required for the investigation after bifurcation. As per the Government order in 1990, in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, general consent for investigation by the CBI was given for the entire State as per the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. It was also contended that while the FIRs were registered by the CBI, ACB, Hyderabad, the alleged offences took place Kurnool and Ananthapur districts. Based on this, it was contended that the entire investigation is vitiated. Further, it was argued that under the PC Act, a specific notification was to be issued by the State or the Central Government designating a Special judge to try offences under PC Act. Lastly, it was also argued that till December 2017, the Government of Andhra Pradesh did not accord consent for prosecution of Central Government servants under the PC Act. What did the High Court say? The High Court of Andhra Pradesh held that transfer of cases from Vishakhapatnam to Kurnool is not per se wrong. It should be noted that this was not challenged before the Court. The High Court answered on the issues of whether lack of consent from the Andhra Pradesh Government and the lack of notification for a Special Court under the PC Act would go into the root of the matter and thereby, vitiate the proceedings in affirmative. It was held that although the operation of the CBI extended in the State, it was subjected to the consent of the State Government. Resultantly, proceedings in both cases were vitiated. Therefore, CBI is in appeal against the order. It has been contended by them that the High Court failed to...

Laws Applicable To Andhra Pradesh Continue To Apply To New States Of Telangana & AP After Bifurcation : Supreme Court

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

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