Allahabad HC plea seeks clubbing of 11 FIRs against Noida worker

Manisha Chauhan, a 25-year-old factory worker arrested in the Noida workers' agitation, has moved the Allahabad High Court seeking to club 11 FIRs registered against her. Her petition argues that all cases arise from the same set of protests between April 10 and 13 over wage hikes, working hours, and overtime pay, and that chargesheets already filed contain overlapping evidence and witnesses. The court has been asked to direct the clubbing under Article 226 of the Constitution.

Her counsel Manik Gupta said multiple FIRs have made the legal process itself a punishment: as soon as bail is secured in one case, another FIR is filed with identical charges, keeping the worker in continuous custody. He cited the case of a 16-year-old held in Kasna jail with adults for over two months, who was initially asked to furnish two sureties of Rs 50,000 each. Clubbing the FIRs, Gupta argued, would reduce the burden of travel, bonds, and multiple hearings for workers who have already been blacklisted by companies.