HC allows Lawyers Collective to seek settlement of FCRA offence

A single-bench Justice Milind Jadhav, hearing the matter on Thursday, noted that the charges against the petitioners were restricted to Section 41 of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which allows certain offences to be compounded under the prescribed procedure

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has allowed ‘Lawyers Collective’, an NGO, and its founders, senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, to seek settlement of an alleged Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) offence, holding that the pendency of criminal proceedings cannot stop them from filing a compounding application. The court directed the Ministry of Home Affairs’ FCRA wing to provide the details needed to file the application within a week.

HC allows Lawyers Collective to seek settlement of FCRA offence

A single-bench Justice Milind Jadhav, hearing the matter on Thursday, noted that the charges against the petitioners were restricted to Section 41 of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which allows certain offences to be compounded under the prescribed procedure.

“Such provisions accrue a valuable right to the Applicants for seeking compounding of the offence, which cannot be denied,” the court said.

The order came after senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Lawyers Collective, told the court that the organisation had repeatedly approached the ministry seeking to file a compounding application. The authority, however, had not allowed the request to proceed because the criminal proceedings were pending before the high court.

The court directed the ministry’s Foreigners Division to provide, within one week, the email address or website through which the application could be filed. It also directed the trial court to consider the application as expeditiously as possible.

After CBI searches at their homes and offices in Mumbai and Delhi, Jaising and Grover approached the high court seeking quashing of the FIR. They argued that the allegations did not disclose any offence.

During an earlier hearing, senior advocate Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the FIR was based on a controversial interpretation of the FCRA and that provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act had been invoked without basis.

Additional solicitor general Anil Singh opposed the plea, submitting that the FIR showed several breaches detected during an inspection. He said the organisation’s registration had been cancelled in November 2016 and its foreign account frozen.

Desai told the court on Tuesday that the chargesheet contained allegations only under the FCRA, making the offences compoundable. Accordingly, the high court permitted Lawyers Collective and its founders to pursue the compounding process, while making it clear that the pending criminal proceedings could not prevent them from seeking the statutory remedy.