Noida worker moves HC to club 11 FIRs filed over April protests

A 25-year-old factory worker arrested in connection with the Noida workers’ agitation has approached the Allahabad High Court seeking the clubbing of 11 FIRs registered against her, arguing that all cases arise from the same sequence of events and that multiple prosecutions have turned the legal process into a tool of continuous incarceration.

Manisha Chauhan, the petitioner, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the wake of protests that took place in the Noida industrial area between April 10 and 13. The demonstrations, which involved demands for wage hikes, better working hours, and improved overtime pay, turned violent on April 13, prompting police to lodge several FIRs. Authorities alleged that “outsiders” and coordinated misinformation networks had hijacked the protests, leading to arrests of multiple individuals.

Chauhan’s counsel, Manik Gupta, stated that the FIRs refer to the same set of events and that chargesheets filed in some cases present overlapping evidence and witnesses. “The cases refer to the same protests, so we have petitioned before the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the registration and continuation of multiple FIRs arising out of one continuous labour agitation,” Gupta said.

The petition argues that the multiplicity of FIRs serves no legitimate investigative purpose and has instead become a mechanism for ensuring continuous incarceration. “As soon as workers get bail in one FIR, another is filed against them with the same charges and referring to the same set of events. With this, her bail turns out to be illusory as she continues to be in jail, waiting to be granted bail in other cases,” Gupta added.

The counsel also highlighted the plight of a 16-year-old arrested in connection with the protests, who was kept in Kasna jail with adults for over two months. Despite being a minor, he was reportedly asked to furnish two sureties of ₹50,000 each, later reduced to ₹30,000. He was granted bail in two other cases on personal bonds. Gupta noted that workers are required to fill bonds, get verifications done, and travel to courts for hearings from their native places, while companies have blacklisted them, leaving them with no employment in Noida.

“Trials will not be able to take place unless all of them are there together,” Gupta said, asserting that clubbing the FIRs would help all workers and activists implicated in these cases to attend trials together, reduce their legal expenses, and ease the burden on the judicial system.

The High Court is yet to schedule a hearing on the writ petition. Legal experts say the case raises important questions about the use of multiple FIRs in situations involving large-scale protests, and whether such practices violate the rights of accused individuals to a fair and speedy trial under the Constitution.

The Noida workers’ agitation had drawn attention to labour conditions in industrial belts, with activists and trade unions demanding better enforcement of labour laws. The police have defended their actions, stating that the FIRs were necessary to investigate the violence and identify those responsible for instigating unrest.