Lawyers Collective later issued a statement and alleged that the petition was an attempt to victimise Jaising, who has been vocal on the recent sexual harassment episode against the CJI
The Supreme Court on Wednesday turned the spotlight on senior lawyer Indira Jaising and her society — Lawyers Collective — by issuing a notice on a petition that questioned the Centre's silence to prosecute her for alleged concealment of foreign income. The income was received by her society during her tenure as Additional Solicitor General (ASG) from July 2009 to May 2014.
Besides Jaising, who serves as Secretary of Lawyers Collective, the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta issued a notice to the Centre and her husband Anand Grover, President of Lawyers Collective. The bench further made it clear that pendency of this petition will not be a hindrance for the Centre to act in the case if it so desired.
Lawyers Collective later issued a statement and alleged that the petition was an attempt to victimise Jaising, who has been vocal on the recent sexual harassment episode against the CJI and openly supported the victim in her legal battle. It stated that the CJI ought not to have heard the petition.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Authority (FCRA) license of Lawyers Collective by an order of May 31, 2016. By this, and subsequent order of November 27, 2016, the petition disclosed that Jaising — while she was ASG — continued with the society and received Rs 96.6 lakh income from two foreign sources: Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundation, portions of which she spent on her foreign travels. This would amount to embezzlement under IPC and raised serious conflict of interest. The petition also sought an independent probe as to whether as ASG, Jaising misused her office to influence government decisions to favour her foreign donors.
The petition sought a Court-monitored SIT probe.
I-T WOES TOO
I-T violations included concealment of Rs 1.5 cr in the ITR of the society for 2009-10; another Rs 2.5 cr concealed in 2010-11, and Rs 4.3 cr concealed in the Foreign Contribution report to MHA between 2010-2012
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