The Supreme Court has directed that two criminal cases arising out of the same incident and registered as cross FIRs be clubbed and tried together, setting aside an order of the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) which had refused such relief.
A Bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan allowed the appeal against the High Court’s March 12, 2025 order rejecting their plea for clubbing of a sessions trial and a connected magisterial case. The Court noted that both cases stemmed from the same incident dated June 29, 2009 and represented cross versions lodged by the rival parties.
The Supreme Court took note of the anomalous situation where the sessions trial had already concluded evidence and reached the stage of final arguments, while the cross-case, triable by a Magistrate, had not even commenced trial. Accepting the appellants’ undertaking that they would not recall or cross-examine witnesses whose evidence had already been recorded in the sessions trial, the Court directed that the magisterial case be transferred to the sessions court and that both matters be tried together, with judgments to be pronounced simultaneously.
The State did not oppose the plea for clubbing and supported continuation of the interim arrangement earlier granted by the Supreme Court.
While allowing the appeal, the Court also expressed concern over the failure of the prosecution and parties to inform the courts about the pendency of cross-cases, which had resulted in uneven progress of the trials. To avoid such situations in the future, the Supreme Court issued a prospective direction mandating disclosure of all cross-cases or connected cases arising from the same incident in the charge-sheet, challan or final report, enabling courts to consider timely clubbing and prevent delays or conflicting outcomes.
Appearances:
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Kushagra Pandey, AOR; Mr. Ved P. Singh, Adv.;; Ms. Ankita Gupta, Adv.; Mr. R.C Shukla, Adv.
For Respondent(s): Mr. Namit Saxena, AOR; Ms. Divyangi Gupta,Adv.; Mr. Kirtivardhan Singh,Adv.; Mr. Vishal Arun Mishra, AOR; Ms. Rupali Panwar, Adv.; Mr. Ashok Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Sandeep Mehta, Adv.; Mr. Avinash Kumar Singh, Adv.; Mr. Dinesh Kumar, Adv
