Shillong, Aug 5 The Meghalaya High Court has directed the police to club five criminal cases registered against TMC leader S G Esmatur Mominin over alleged hate speeches made during the GHADC elections, holding that they arose from the same cause of action.
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere passed the order while disposing of four petitions filed by former MLA Mominin, who had initially sought quashing of the FIRs but later amended his plea to seek their consolidation with the first case registered at Araimile police station.
The cases, registered at Phulbari and Araimile police stations in West Garo Hills, relate to alleged offences under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order (MMPO) Act.
Mominin contended that all the FIRs stemmed from the same chain of events during the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections held earlier this year, including an alleged assault on him and his subsequent address to the public, and that the complaints were largely based on media reports and video clips rather than the complainants' personal knowledge.
His counsel relied on Supreme Court judgments to argue that multiple FIRs cannot be registered for the same cause of action.
Appearing for the state, Additional Advocate General N D Chullai did not dispute the legal position and informed the court that the four cases registered at Phulbari police station would be transferred to Araimile police station and clubbed with the FIR registered there on March 10, 2026, which was the first in point of time.
Accepting the state's submission, the court directed that all records relating to Phulbari police station case numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13 of 2026 be transferred to Araimile police station within three days and merged with Araimile police station case number 19 of 2026.
"In view of the aforesaid statement... nothing survives for further consideration in these petitions," the court observed while allowing the petitions.
The court, however, clarified that Mominin would be at liberty to file a fresh petition seeking quashing of the proceedings after the cases are clubbed, if he so desires.
