The Patna High Court has quashed, against the petitioner, a robbery FIR registered at Dhanarua police station, holding it to be an impermissible second FIR over the same transaction, the taking of a Tata Indica and mobile phones, that had already been the subject of an earlier case at Deepnagar. Applying the T.T. Antony ‘test of sameness’, Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha held that continuing the later case would be an abuse of the process of the court.
Comedian Pranit More has approached the Supreme Court seeking the clubbing of FIRs registered against him in Maharashtra and Haryana over the ‘Rs 370 biryani’ controversy, which arose from a misogynistic remark by an audience member at his show. The FIRs invoke provisions of the BNS and the IT Act. The petition is likely to be listed on September 21, and the allegations are untested.
Sharjeel Imam has petitioned the Supreme Court to consolidate multiple FIRs related to his speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, arguing for a single trial to avoid multiple prosecutions. The Court noted the commonality of the speech but recognized distinct incidents linked to it in different states. The case will be revisited in two weeks.
Journalist Prashant Koratkar has been denied anticipatory bail by the Bombay High Court amid allegations of making derogatory remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Koratkar claims the evidence is altered and has faced multiple FIRs, including threatening a historian. He seeks protection after public outrage over a viral video of his conversation.
Controversial preacher Zakir Naik retracted his plea today (23rd Oct) to consolidate hate speech FIRs during a Supreme Court hearing. The court questioned his right to petition while being a fugitive. Naik faces multiple investigations for promoting communal enmity and is believed to reside in Malaysia since leaving India in 2016.