Recently, Central Bureau of Investigation has registered FIR against the leading NGO administered by one of its founding members, Senior Advocate Ms Indira Jaising in violation of the Foreign Contribution Registration Act.
The FIR is booked per the complaint dated May 15 2019 made by the MHA Under Secretary Shri Anil Kumar Dhasmana alleging that the NGO diverted foreign contributions received by them for activities not mentioned in the objects of the association and that funds were used for personal expenses unrelated to these objects and the list of accused also names the Senior Advocate Anand Grover in the instant matter.
The Lawyers Collective in its Statement released in respect of this issue has raised concern not only on the CBI, but also on the Hon’ble Apex Court of India and expressed “shock & outrage” over the registration of the FIR.
IMAGE 1: FIR lodged against the NGO Lawyers Collective by CBI.[1]
Ms Jaising recused CJI from taking up & hearing the matter and the statement revealed as follows:[2]
"It has been brought to our knowledge that during the proceedings today, though the petitioner's advocate did not orally seek any interim orders, the court has passed an order to the effect that the pendency of the petition will not come in the way of the government agencies proceeding in the matter.It is obvious to us that this is victimization on account of Ms Jaising taking up the issue of the procedure adopted in relation to the allegations against the Chief Justice of India by a former employee of the Supreme Court, which Ms Jaising has done in her capacity as a concerned citizen, a senior member of the Bar and a women's rights advocate, without commenting on the merits of the allegations. Considering that Ms. Jaising has been publicly vocal on the issue of due process of law in relation to the conduct of the in-house inquiry, the Chief Justice ought to have recused himself from hearing the matter”.
The text of the full statement can be reached out on the following link:
Click Here
[1] Vakasha Sachdev, CBI Registers FIR against Anand Grover, Lawyers Collective under FCRA, THE QUINT (June 19, 2019, 08:57 AM), https://www.thequint.com/news/india/cbi-registers-fir-lawyers-collective-anand-grover-indira-jaising-fcra-pc-act.
[2] Live Law News Network, CBI Registers FIR Against Lawyers Collective For Alleged FCRA Violations; NGO Terms It An Attempt To Silence Them [Read Statement], LIVE LAW (June 19, 2019, 08:52AM), https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/cbi-registers-case-against-lawyers-collective-for-alleged-fcra-violations-145751.
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