The Joint Director (Rayalaseema), Anti-Corruption Bureau, A.P. v. Dayam Peda Ranga Rao & Ors.
Background
FIRs registered at an ACB unit were quashed by the High Court on the theory that the unit was never re-notified as a "police station" after the 2014 state split: a gap only formally clarified by a 2022 order.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court called this "hyper-technical," holding pre-split laws and notifications automatically continue for successor states unless specifically changed: no fresh notification was legally required. It restored the FIRs and ordered investigations to resume.
Lesson Learnt
When a state is reorganised, existing laws and administrative notifications carry over automatically until formally changed. Courts shouldn't let real investigations collapse over curable procedural gaps in old paperwork.