Shillong (Meghalaya), April 24: The Meghalaya High Court has disposed of former MDC Sofior Rahman’s plea after the State agreed to club three separate FIRs filed against him over a single Facebook post, ending the prospect of multiple probes on the same incident.
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere on April 23 made the Rule absolute in http://CrI.Petn. No. 29 of 2026 and closed the petition, holding that nothing survives for further consideration.
Addl. PP N.G. Shylla, on instructions, told the Court that all three cases will be clubbed and transferred to Araimile Police Station, where the first FIR, P.S. Case No. 19/2026, was registered on March 10, 2026 under Sections 196(a)(b)/351(2) of the BNS, 2023. The Court accepted the statement.
The cases from Tura Police Station and Songsak Police Station, now with the Crime Branch Police Station, Western Range, Tura, will be moved to Araimile. Tura had registered P.S. Case No. 32/2026 on March 15, 2026 under Sections 192/196(1)/353(1)(2)/57 of the BNS, 2023, read with Sections 6A/8B of the MMPO Act and Sections 8A/11 of the MMPO (Autonomous District) Act. Songsak filed P.S. Case No. 07/2026 on March 12, 2026 under Sections 196(1)/197(1)/352/353(1)(b)(c)(2) of the BNS, 2023.
Shylla did not dispute that all three FIRs arose from one post on Rahman’s Facebook account, nor did she contest the legal position laid down by the Supreme Court.
Senior Counsel K. Paul, appearing for Rahman, argued that multiple criminal proceedings cannot lie on the same cause of action. He relied on T.T. Antony v. State of Kerala, Amish Devgan v. Union of India, and Arnab Ranjan Goswami v. Union of India. In Amish Devgan, the Apex Court reiterated the T.T. Antony principle that subsequent FIRs on the same incident are to be treated as statements under Section 162 CrPC, as only the first information sets criminal law in motion.
Paul submitted that Rahman, a local leader and ex-MDC, had posted on Facebook advocating for non-tribal participation in elections. The post was flagged during routine social media monitoring as provocative and capable of disturbing public peace and communal harmony, leading to complaints at three police stations.
The High Court took up the petition for final disposal with consent of parties after the Rule was made returnable forthwith. With the State’s undertaking to club the cases, Chief Justice Dere disposed of the matter on April 23.
