Supreme Court disposes of Odisha's Kotia case with a status quo order

On 30 March 2006 the Supreme Court of India disposed of a case brought by Odisha over Kotia, a cluster of hill villages on the Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border. Odisha had gone to court to challenge Andhra Pradesh's growing administrative presence in the area.

The court did not decide which state owns the villages. Instead it disposed of the case with a status quo order, meaning the administration of the disputed villages was to stay as it was at the time. The boundary question itself was left unresolved.

The order mattered because it froze, rather than settled, the dispute. Kotia is claimed by both states, and residents have since dealt with officials, welfare schemes and elections from both sides. Later clashes over who may govern the villages, including the question of voting, trace back to this unresolved position.