The Meghalaya High Court has instructed state authorities to consolidate five separate criminal cases filed against Trinamool Congress leader and former legislator S G Esmatur Mominin into a single investigation, ruling that the matters originated from the same cause of action during recent local body elections.
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere issued the direction while disposing of petitions filed by Mominin. The court ordered that four criminal cases registered at the Phulbari police station in West Garo Hills be transferred within three days to the Araimile police station. These cases—numbered 10, 11, 12, and 13 of 2026—will be merged with Araimile police station case number 19 of 2026, which was the initial case registered on March 10, 2026.
State Agrees To Consolidation Order
The cases against the former lawmaker stem from alleged hate speeches delivered during the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council election campaign earlier this year. Police had invoked charges under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Act.
During proceedings, Additional Advocate General N D Chullai, representing the state government, did not contest the legal framework regarding multiple filings for a single cause of action. He informed the bench that the state agreed to transfer the four cases from Phulbari to Araimile and merge them with the earliest registered complaint.
Court Grants Liberty To Seek Quashing
Mominin had initially approached the high court seeking to quash the multiple cases before amending his prayer to request their merger with the first registered FIR. Defense counsel argued that all five filings arose from a continuous sequence of events, which included an alleged physical assault on Mominin and his subsequent public address. The defense also pointed out that the police complaints relied primarily on news reports and circulating video recordings rather than direct personal knowledge from the complainants, citing Supreme Court precedents precluding multiple FIRs for the same incident.
Accepting the state’s agreement to combine the cases, the high court concluded that no further issues required adjudication and disposed of the petitions. However, Chief Justice Dere clarified in the order that Mominin retains the right to submit a fresh petition seeking the quashing of the legal proceedings once the consolidation process is finalized.
