CBI Raids Residence & Offices of Indira Jaising and Anand Grover

The CBI is carrying out searches at the residence of noted lawyer Indira Jaising and offices of Lawyers Collective, an NGO run by her husband Anand Grover, officials said Thursday. The searches are taking place at the Nizamuddin residence and office of Jaising, office of the NGO in Jangpura and an office in Mumbai from 5 in the morning, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked Grover, the president of Lawyers Collective, and unidentified office-bearers of the organisation, besides unidentified officials. According to the complaint of the ministry, which is now a part of the FIR, the group had received foreign aid worth over Rs 32.39 crore between 2006-07 and 2014-15, wherein irregularities were committed that amounted to violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Tuesday, June 18, registered a criminal case against the Delhi-based NGO, Lawyers’ Collective, for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) rules. The FIR has named senior advocate Anand Grover and unidentified office bearers and functionaries of the organisation.

The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which alleged several discrepancies in the utilisation of foreign aid received by the NGO. Though the investigative agency did not name Grover’s wife and former additional solicitor general Indira Jaising in the FIR, the MHA’s complaint mentions allegations against her. The ministry claims that Jaising, as the ASG from 2009 to 2014, received remunerations from the foreign contributions received by Lawyers Collective.

Jaising, Grover and Lawyers Collective had issued a press statement, disputing "any allegation of misutilisation of any funds". 

"It is obvious to us that this is victimisation on account of Ms Jaising taking up the issue of the procedure adopted in relation to allegations of sexual harassment against the Chief Justice of India by a former employee of the Supreme Court, which Ms Jaising has done so in her capacity as a concerned citizen, a senior member of the bar and a women's rights advocate, without commenting on merits of the allegations," the press statement had said. 

Last week, several artists, writers, academics, lawyers and journalists across India came together to show their support for NGO Lawyers Collective. In a statement titled "Standing up for those who stood with us," the signatories, which included names like Theatre maker, Anuradha Kapur, advocate Karuna Nundy, and filmmaker Anand Patwardhan among others, called upon the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the home ministry to “desist from the unjustified and vindictive use of criminal law” against its founders Indira Jaising and Anand Grover.

In this video, advocate Warisha Farasat, speaks on about the contributions made by Anand Grover and Indira Jaising and calls the charges a clear case of Vendetta by the Modi government.

With Inputs from PTI