Bombay high court restrains CBI from taking any coercive action against Anand Grover, Indira Jaisingh of Lawyers Collective

MUMBAI: In a relief to Lawyers Collective and its founding members, advocates Anand Grover and Indira Jaisingh, the Bombay high court on Thursday passed interim orders to protect them against any arrest by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The HC said "no coercive steps" be taken against Grover and Jaisingh till August 19, in a case registered last month for violation of foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and other offences including under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Jaisingh is India's former and first woman additional solicitor general.
The Lawyers Collective and the two lawyers approached the HC against the CBI case and sought to have the FIR quashed. Senior counsels Aspi Chinoy and Mihir Desai representing them argued before a bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre that the FIR was registered "with no preliminary inquiry" and based on an inspection report of 2016 for a period of 2009-2015 in a matter that is pending in court and is subjudice. The report preceded a November 2016 order of cancellation of the NGO's FCRA registration which was challenged in January 2017 and an interim order was passed in its favour after admitting the appeal.
On July 11, search warrants were taken by CBI and raids were carried out on the lawyer's office and residential premises. The case said Chinoy, "is ex facie, an abuse of process and Mala fide." He added, "No offence was disclosed, no offence made out."
The CBI had on May 15 written to Maharashtra home department a week after the Supreme Court passed an order after Jaisingh "raised concerns about procedure adopted in handling allegations of harassment by a former employee of the SC against the Chief Justice of India," said the petition. Less than a month later the FIR was registered for offences under FCRA, Indian penal Code for cheating and criminal conspiracy and PCA. "What is interesting is cancellation order refers to only one offence and had dropped four offences," said Chinoy, unlike the FIR which has a litany of them.
Lawyers Collective does "yeomen service" in the field of legislation and rights said Chinoy. He said LC had received money from British deputy high commission for a "specific task entrusted to them" and that cannot be classified as donation. The amounts were "disclosed in 2015-16" after two years. He said every alleged transgression against them is a "matter of interpretation."
But Anil Singh, additional solicitor general who objected to any relief to Grover or Jaisingh, argued that the CBI is still investigating the matter. He also said that Jaisingh when she was ASG got remuneration of over Rs 1 lakh from Lawyers Collective per month based on the funds. Chinoy said the law ministry had given permission but the CBI is now contenting that it had to be given by the home ministry.
Singh also argued that the foreign contributions were "not utilised for the object of the charitable trust but for personal benefit. He added that the FCRA registration has been cancelled and foreign bank account has been frozen."