CBI appeal against Bombay HC decision to prevent coercive steps against Anand Grover and Indira Jaising will be heard in Supreme Court today.
CJI's court at around 10:30, it's item 29.
What this CBI appeal is about: https://www.thequint.com/news/law/cbi-moves-sc-indira-jaising-anand-grover-arrest
What the FIR is all about:
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/cbi-registers-fir-lawyers-collective-anand-grover-indira-jaising-fcra-pc-act
So what is this all about?
Earlier this year, MHA filed a complaint with CBI based on a Jan 2016 investigation into Lawyers Collective, the NGO founded by Grover and Indira Jaising.
Based on this complaint - no further information had come to light in the intervening years - CBI registered an FIR back in June.
The complaint alleged irregularities in the way funds were used by the staff of Lawyers Collective, including Grover and Jaising.
On basis of the MHA's 2016 report, Lawyers Collective's FCRA licence had been cancelled back in 2016. This was contested in Bom HC, but no progress on case yet.
The offices of Anand Grover and Indira Jaising were raided on 11 July.
The raids were condemned by opposition MPs & foreign legal associations like the International Commission of Jurists & the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales.
Several journalists and public figures termed the whole exercise a witch-hunt, Lawyers Collective issued a strong statement.
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/cbi-raids-anand-grover-indira-jaising-fcra-violation
Following the raids, Grover and Jaising approached the Bombay High Court to quash the FIR against them.
On 25 July, the high court passed an interim order directing the CBI to take "no coercive steps" against them while the investigation into the case against them.
This what CBI has appealed against in SC.
They say HC order violates 2017 SC judgment, which held high courts should not pass 'no coercive steps' orders in quashing petitions, as this amounts to granting anticipatory bail to the accused – without satisfying conditions required for anticipatory bail.
When case came up for hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta started arguing for CBI, saying there's a trend by high couets to pass these kind of orders.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi notes there is a connected matter - a PIL by NGO Lawyers Voice, which had been filed before the CBI registered an FIR, making same allegations based on MHA inquiry , and demanding action against Grover and Jaising. The CBI FIR swiftly followed this PIL.
OUTCOME:
CJI Gogoi listed both matters - Lawyers Voice PIL and the CBI appeal - on Thursday, 14 November.
No stay on the Bom HC order, so no coercive steps against Grover or Jaising possible till at least then.
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