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State of Rajasthan v. Surendra Singh Rathore

Criminal Appeal · 2025 INSC 248Decided 19 Feb 2025
Crl.A. No.-000847-000847 - 2025 (arising out of SLP(Crl.) No.16358 of 2024)
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra

Background

The respondent, a Chief Executive Officer of Rajasthan's Bio-fuel Authority, was accused in two separate FIRs of demanding bribes from bio-diesel licence holders: the first for an incident in April 2022, and a second, much larger FIR detailing a wider conspiracy involving multiple middlemen and phone surveillance over several months. The respondent got the second FIR quashed by the Rajasthan High Court, arguing that Indian law generally does not allow two FIRs for the same set of facts and that any new information should have been added to the first investigation instead of triggering a fresh FIR. The State of Rajasthan appealed to the Supreme Court to revive the second FIR.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court traced the line of precedents on "second FIRs," including T.T. Antony and Upkar Singh, and reaffirmed that while a second FIR covering the exact same incident is generally barred, courts must apply a "test of sameness". If the second FIR reveals a different or wider scope of wrongdoing (such as a larger conspiracy) than the first, it can validly proceed. The Court found the two FIRs here covered materially different ground: the first was about a single bribe demand, while the second exposed a broader pattern of institutional corruption. Quashing the second FIR, the Court held, would improperly stop a legitimate corruption investigation before it could run its course. The High Court's quashing order was set aside and the FIR restored, with a direction to complete the investigation promptly.

Lesson Learnt

A second police complaint (FIR) against the same person is not always illegal. If it uncovers a genuinely broader or different set of facts than the first, such as a wider corruption network, investigators are allowed to pursue it separately rather than being forced to fold everything into the original case.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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