MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday restrained the Central Bureau of Investigation from taking any coercive action against NGO 'Lawyers Collective' (LC) and its founding members, senior lawyers Anand Grover and Indira Jaising.
A bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre granted the interim protection to LC and others till August 19, the next date of hearing.
Based on a complaint by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the CBI had registered a case against Grover, Jaising and LC for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) in receiving foreign funds for the NGO.
They approached the high court on Thursday seeking that the case, registered by the CBI in June, be quashed.
Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy, their lawyer, denied all charges of FCRA violation and alleged that the MHA's complaint and the FIR were, on the face of it, "abuse of power".