NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered a criminal case against Mumbai-based NGO Lawyers Collective and named its president Anand Grover for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
Grover is the husband of senior Supreme Court lawyer and human rights activist Indira Jaising.
According to the CBI, apart from allegedly violating FCRA rules, Grover and the NGO have been booked for criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust after receiving a Home Ministry report in this regard.
Apart from Grover, unknown office bearers and officials of the NGO, public servants and some other persons have also been named in the FIR registered by the CBI.
According to the complaint from the Home Ministry, the NGO, which was registered for undertaking social activities, had received Rs 32.39 crore from 2006-2007 to 2014-2015.
"The violation of the FCRA was noticed in 2010," the MHA complaint said.
The complaint also alleged that the response from Lawyers Collective was not satisfactory after a site inspection was carried out at their office premises in from January 19-23, 2016.
In November 2016, the MHA had cancelled the registration of the NGO under the FCRA and asked it to stop accepting funding from abroad. In 2017, the licence of the NGO was suspended.
Lawyers Collective was also slapped with a Supreme Court notice for the alleged violations in May this year.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.