‘Withdraw Criminal Charges’, Say Over 150 Concerned Citizens After CBI Raids Premises Of Indira Jaising And Anand Grover

On a day when the CBI is conducting raids on the offices and residence of senior advocates Anand Grover and Indira Jaisingh of Lawyers Collective, rights groups and individuals have issued a statement condemning the same and coming out in support of the Mr Grover and Ms Jaisingh.

Statement Condemning Raid  on ‘Lawyers Collective’ and its representatives

11 July 2019,

We, the undersigned groups and individuals strongly condemn the CBI raids on the office and residence premises of Senior Advocate Mr. Anand Grover and Indira Jaisingh of Lawyers Collective.   

Criminal charges were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 13, 2019, relying on an investigation report of January 2016 of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Lawyers Collective, a human rights organisation based in New Delhi with its registered office in Mumbai, was founded by noted Indian human rights defenders and lawyers Ms. Indira Jaising and Mr. Anand Grover. Ms. Jaising and Mr. Grover are senior advocates with an exceptional profile of public service, probity and personal and professional integrity as lawyers and as human rights defenders.

In 1986, Ms. Jaising became the first woman to be designated as a Senior Advocate by the High Court of Bombay and in 2009 she became the first woman to be appointed as an Additional Solicitor General of India.  Ms. Jaisingh has been a member of the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) between 2009 and 2012. She has been a recipient of the Padma Shree (a prestigious civilian award given by the Indian government in recognition of a distinguished contribution to Indian life) in 2005 followed by the Rotary Manav Seva Award for her services to the nation.

Mr. Grover held the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health between 2008 and 2014. The country’s HIV/AIDS treatment programme has evolved with the serious efforts of the HIV/AIFS Unit of Lawyers Collective, headed by Mr. Grover.

Ms. Jaising and Mr. Grover, through Lawyers Collective, have advocated for advancing the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised sections of Indian society. At several occasions, they have never hesitated to challenge the unconstitutional and anti-people actions and policies of the State through judicial processes.

It is extremely shocking and sad to see the  Government of India use the state machinery and its various tools against people and organisations whose contribution to upholding the constitutional values and the rule of law is well-acknowledged and recognised. The crackdown is a gross violation of India’s national as well as international commitment to human rights and social justice.

The reprisal against Lawyers Collective began in 2016 by suspending their FCRA license, which was further challenged in the High Court of Bombay. Lawyers Collective’s challenge to the FCRA cancellation and non-renewal are currently pending before the High Court. On June 13, 2019, the CBI registered a First Information Report under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, false statement made in declaration and various sections under the FCRA and Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act 1988.

Filing of criminal charges  and conducting raids while the matter is under consideration by the High Court is a blatant misuse of its agencies by the Indian Government to target critical human rights work undertaken by Lawyers Collective and its representatives, often involving sensitive cases against Indian ministers and senior officials of the ruling political party.

We, strongly urge: 

• The criminal charges against Lawyers Collective be immediately withdrawn pending the decision of the High Court of Bombay.
• Misuse of the country’s laws and the state machinery against human rights defenders be ceased.
• All acts of harassment against Mr. Anand Grover, Ms. Indira Jaising and other Officer bearers of Lawyers Collective as well as against all human rights defenders in India be put to an end.
• Human Rights Defenders in the country should be able to carry out their legitimate activities without hindrance.
• The National Human Rights Commission of India to take cognizance of this matter and take immediate actions under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 (PHRA), including a review of the FCRA under Section 12 (d) of the PHRA.

Endorsed by:

1. A Muthukrishnan, Madhurai
2. Aban Raza, Delhi
3. Abhijit Dutta, Bangalore
4. Afaqullah Khan, Lucknow
5. Ahmar Raza
6. Ajitha GS
7. Amandeep Sandhu
8. Amir Rizvi, Mumbai
9. Amrita Nandy
10. Anisha Ghosh, Delhi
11. Arundhati Ghosh
12. Asavari Sharma, Bangalore
13. Baban Prakash, Delhi
14. Bharti Ali, Delhi
15. Bhavreen Khandari, Delhi
16. Chinu Srinivasan, Delhi
17. David Raj, Hyderabad
18. Dev Desai
19. Dhamm Muktiwadi, Mumbai
20. Dinesh Abrol
21. Enakshi Ganguly, Delhi
22. Farah Naqvi, Delhi
23. Ganesh Rajaram
24. Gauhar Raza
25. Gaurav Menghaney
26. Geeta Sajjanshetty, Kalaburagi
27. Gopa Trivedi
28. Guffran Siddiqu, Faizabad
29. Harleen Walia, Delhi
30. Harsh Mandar, Delhi
31. HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, Delhi
32. Indranil Mukherjee, Kolkata
33. Jacob John
34. Jawed Naqvi
35. Jean Drez
36. John Dayal
37. Kajol Menon, Mumbai
38. Karuna Bishnoi, Delhi
39. Kalpana Purushotaman, Bangalore
40. Kiran Modi
41. Komal Ganotra, Delhi
42. Kritika Agarwal
43. Lucy Xavier, Bengaluru
44. Madhushree Basu, Chennai
45. Maharukh Adenwala
46. Miguel Queah Das, Guwahati
47. Mira Shiva, Delhi
48. Nicole Rangel, Delhi
49. Nikhil Kumar, Delhi
50. Nishit Kumar, Mumbai
51. Niyati Singh
52.  Nupur Sinha
53. Nuzhat Kazmi, Delhi
54. Ovaisi Sultan Khan, Delhi
55. Pallavi Gaur
56. Prabhat Kumar, Delhi
57. Pragya Vats, Delhi
58. Priya Srinivasan, Calcutta
59. Priti Patkar, Prerana, Mumbai
60. Radhika Jha, Delhi
61. Rahul Roy, Delhi
62. Rajendra K Sail, Chattisgarh
63. Revati Laul
64. Rita Panicker, Delhi
65. Ritvik Agarwal
66. Rohini Mohan, Bangalore
67. Rosalyn Demello
68. Sandhya Lakshmi C, Delhi
69. Sanjay Kak, New Delhi
70. Shabnam Hashmi, Delhi
71. Shahbaz Khan Shervani, Lucknow
72. Shamya Dasgupta
73. Shantanu Sen, NOIDA
74. Shilpa Alhuwalia, Mumbai
75. Shireen Vakil, Delhi
76. Sourav Suman, Bangalore
77. Sudha Murali, Hyderabad
78. Sumitra Mishra, Delhi
79. Swagata Raha, Bangalore
80. Swati Awasthy, Bangalore
81. Swapna Gopinath
82. Tannistha Datta, Bidar
83. Tasha Koshi, Delhi
84. Tasqeen Macchiwalla
85. Teresa Khanna
86. Teesta Seetalvad, Mumbai
87. Valay Singh Rai, Delhi
88. Prof Ved Kumari, Delhi
89. Varun, Mumbai
90. Venkatesh Nayak, Delhi
91. Vrinda Grover, Delhi
92. Vriti Sawhney

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently conducting raids on senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, in connection with the FIR it filed against Lawyers Collective for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

CBI raids are presently underway at the residence and offices of Jaising and Grover at Delhi and Mumbai.

The raids follow the registration of a case by the CBI against the NGO, Lawyers Collective, of which Jaising and Grover are office bearers. Last month, the CBI had registered the case against Lawyers Collective for alleged violation of the FCRA.

The CBI acted against the NGO, its functionaries, as well as certain private individuals after receiving a complaint from Anil Kumar Dhasmana, Under Secretary to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The complaint states that after inspection of the books of accounts and the records of the NGO, a prima facie violation of the FCRA 2010 was noticed.

Lawyers Collective, Grover, and others are booked for suspected offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, making of false statement in the declaration under the FCRA 2010, and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC), 1988. In addition to invoking the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the CBI has charged them under Sections 33, 35, 37, and 39 of the FCRA 2010 and Section 13(2) with Section 13(1)(d) of the PC Act.

The Home Ministry’s complaint states that after prima facie irregularities were found, a response from Lawyers Collective was sought. The reply was submitted by the NGO in March 2016, but was found to be unsatisfactory. Thus, the Ministry suspended Lawyers Collective’s FCRA registration pending appropriate action. Subsequently, a show cause notice was issued under the provisions of the FCRA.

In July 2016, a written reply was submitted by the NGO, which was again found to be unsatisfactory and did not provide “adequate explanation vis-a-vis the violations found”. Eventually, in November 2016, the MHA cancelled the FCRA registration for Lawyers Collective.

The Home Ministry’s complaint to the CBI has also taken objection to a government law officer taking foreign contributions. In this light, it states that the fact that Senior Advocate Indira Jaising received a salary of Rs. 96.60 lakh from Lawyers Collective while serving as Additional Solicitor General (ASG) from 2009 to 2014, is seen as a violation of the FCRA.

A petition challenging the cancellation of Lawyers Collective’s FCRA registration is pending before the Supreme Court. More recently, a PIL was filed by another NGO named Lawyers Voice, seeking a direction to the Central government for registration of an FIR against Jaising, Grover, and Lawyers Collective for offences under the IPC, PMLA and PC Act.

The Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had issued a notice in the case. The order passed by the Court states,

“We make it clear that the pendency of this writ petition will not come in the way of the investigating agencies of the government of India to act in accordance with law.”

This PIL led to Senior Counsel Indira Jaising, Grover, and Lawyers Collective issuing a press statement claiming victimisation for taking up the issue of sexual harassment allegations against CJI Ranjan Gogoi.