Court orders consolidation of multiple FIRs arising from a single cause of action in GHADC election controversy.
In a significant judgment, the Meghalaya High Court, under the stewardship of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere, issued a directive to consolidate multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against petitioner Shri S.G. Esmatur Mominin. The FIRs, registered across different police stations, originated from the same chain of events relating to the GHADC election, an alleged assault on the petitioner, and his subsequent public address.
The petitions, identified as Crl.Petn.No.109 to 112 of 2026, were filed seeking to club all the cases registered at Phulbari Police Station with the initial FIR at Araimile Police Station. The legal representatives for the petitioner argued that all the FIRs stemmed from the same sequence of events and were based primarily on media reports and video evidence rather than personal accounts.
The High Court referred to established precedents set by the Supreme Court in cases like "Amish Devgan v. Union of India," "T.T. Antony v. State of Kerala," and "Arnab Ranjan Goswami v. Union of India," which assert that multiple FIRs cannot be registered for the same cause of action. Upholding these precedents, the court ordered that all FIRs from Phulbari Police Station be transferred and consolidated with the FIR at Araimile Police Station, which was the first to be registered on March 10, 2026.
The Additional Advocate General, representing the state, did not contest the petitioner's claims and agreed to the transfer and clubbing of the cases. The court instructed that this process be completed within three days of the order's issuance.
This decision underscores the judicial commitment to preventing redundant litigation and ensuring efficient case management. The petitioner retains the right to file a fresh petition for quashing the proceedings post-clubbing if deemed necessary.
The judgment clarifies procedural protocols and reinforces the legal framework surrounding the registration and management of FIRs, aiming to streamline judicial processes in cases involving overlapping legal actions.
Bottom Line:
Multiple FIRs arising from the same cause of action cannot be registered, and such FIRs must be clubbed with the first FIR registered in point of time.
Statutory provision(s): Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Sections 192, 196, 57, 353, 324, 298
Shri S.G. Esmatur Mominin v. State of Meghalaya, (Meghalaya) : Law Finder Doc id # 2954713
