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India: Statement Condemning the Persecution of Lawyers Collective and Indira Jaising and Anand Grover by Home Ministry

7 June 2016

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sacw.net - 7 June 2016

We, the undersigned, unequivocally condemn the efforts of the Ministry of Home Affairs to persecute the Lawyers Collective (LC), Indira Jaising and Anand Grover in order to obstruct the legal and human rights work being carried out by them.

We condemn the suspension of the FCRA registration of LC, as well as the mala fide and motivated manner in which the Ministry of Home Affairs, in a blatant violation of law, leaked the suspension notice to the press even before providing LC with a copy of the same.

There has been a systematic campaign and abuse of the legal process by the Central Government to malign Indira Jaising and Anand Grover as well as LC over the past six months. The suspension of LC’s FCRA registration is nothing but an escalation of the Government’s campaign to crush dissent and criminalise any person or organisation that questions or opposes the violation of fundamental rights and human rights by the State and its agencies.

The motivated campaign and actions against LC fit neatly into the present Government’s concerted campaign against marginalised and oppressed sections of society and any person, whether students, activists, academics or individuals who question the policies, actions and the abuse of power by the government.

Senior Advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover have an exceptional profile of public service, probity and personal and professional integrity as lawyers and as human rights activists. Their work has received global recognition.

Ms. Indira Jaising, has made an unparalleled contribution to law and jurisprudence on gender discrimination, whether relating to women’s right to property, sexual harassment at the workplace, domestic violence etc. She has also been a member of the CEDAW Committee. Anand Grover held the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health between 2008 to 2014. He has made a tremendous contribution to the legal campaign against the criminalisation of homosexuality; rights of persons living with HIV; and access to medicine and healthcare. Ms. Jaising and Mr. Grover, through LC have and continue to advance the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of society, thereby upholding constitutional values. Instead of recognizing their invaluable contribution to the county and its people, the Government is making all efforts to obstruct their work.

Through the persecution and harassment of LC and Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, the present Government is sending a clear and chilling message to the citizens of this country that the inevitable consequence of questioning or criticising the present Government’s policies is repression and criminalisation.

LC has specifically and repeatedly countered and justified each of the bald allegations regarding misuse of funds that have been levelled by the MHA. However, the MHA has displayed an unusual vindictiveness by ignoring the official responses sent by LC and proceeding to suspend their FCRA registration.

The malafide and clear intention to malign and harass LC is evident from the fact that the MHA, in clear violation of procedure, allowed the notice of suspension of FCRA registration to be provided to the media before it was provided to LC, Ms. Jaising or Mr. Grover.

The MHA’s suspension of LC’s FCRA registration is based on the allegation that the FCRA has been violated on the following grounds:

That the remuneration paid by LC to Ms. Jaising for certain services provided by her while she was also serving as a government servant (as the Additional Solicitor General of India) is a violation of the FCRA.

LC in its response to the MHA has specifically stated that at this time Ms. Jaising was not a government servant.

That the reimbursement of expenses for telephone and internet, incurred by Mr. Anand Grover while he was serving as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health were a violation of the FCRA.

LC has denied the same and has specifically stated that the reimbursements pertained to expenses incurred for work done by Mr. Grover for LC itself.

That LC has used funds it has received through the FCRA to organise dharnas and rallies which can be interpreted as political action in violation of the FCRA.

This has been repeatedly denied by LC as being entirely false and baseless. LC has further stated that the only money it has spent on mobilizing communities was received from local sources or UN agencies, which is not illegal, moreover, the community mobilisation was restricted to organising people living with HIV/AIDS, which can be no means be considered a ‘political activity’

The allegations against LC are motivated, absurd and feeble, and display nothing but a desperate attempt by the Government and MHA to persecute persons who are able to challenge and highlight the egregious violation of human rights that the present Government is committing, condoning and is complicit in.

It is therefore no surprise that the targetting of LC and Ms. Jaising and Mr Grover began subsequent to their legal representation and intervention in certain cases. Ms. Jaising and Mr. Grover have legally challenged the discharge of BJP National President Mr. Amit Shah who was an accused in the fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and Tulsiram Prajapati. Ms. Jaising has represented Priya Pillai who challenged the Central Government’s action of preventing her from attending a conference abroad and critiquing Government’s policies on allowing corporations to acquire and mine lands belonging to farmers and others. Mr. Grover had represented Yakub Memon in challenging the death sentence awarded to him before the Supreme Court.

We stand in solidarity with Indira Jaising, Anand Grover, and all their colleagues at LC.

We condemn all efforts to obstruct their work, and to harass and persecute them.

We are confident that LC, Indira Jaising and Anand Grover will not be deterred by the malicious and vindictive campaign unleashed by the Government and we are confident that they will continue to work to uphold Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights.

We appeal to all those who support the right to dissent, question and criticize anti-people policies of the government to express their solidarity.

In Solidarity,

Organisations/Institutions
1 All India Blue Star Employees’ Federation
2 All India Democratic Women’s Association
3 All India Blue Star Employees’ Federation
4 Aman Biradari Trust
5 Amnesty International India
6 Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI)
7 Association for Promotion of Sustainable Development, Hisar
8 Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Manch (MASUM)
9 Beyond Beijing Committee
10 Borok Peoples’ Human Rights Organisation
11 Centre for Equity Studies
12 Centre for Human Rights and Development
13 Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion
14 Civil Society Forum on Human Rights
15 Community Legal Education Center
16 Deen Bandhu Sahayata Samiti (DBSS)
17 Delhi Forum
18 Evironment Support Group, Bangalore
19 Forum Against Oppression of Women
20 Gonggam Human Rights Law Foundation
21 Greenpeace India
22 HAQ Centre for Child Rights
23 Ideosync Media Combine
24 Indian Social Institute
25 INSAF – Indian Social Action Forum
26 Institute of Development Education, Action & Studies (IDEAS), Madurai
27 JEEVA, Karnataka
28 Kamani Employees’ Union
29 LABIA – A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai
30 Law Life Culture, Bangladesh
31 Lok Manch
32 Mahan Sangarsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh
33 Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights
34 Nari Shakti Manch, Gurgaon
35 National Alliance Group for Denotifed and Nomadic Tribe (NAG – DNT)
36 National Commission for Justice and Peace
37 National Foundation for India
38 New Trade Union Initiative
39 NoMore Campaign
40 Peoples Union For Civil Liberties
41 People’s Watch
42 Programme Against Custodial Torture and Impunity (PACTI)
43 RTI Federation
44 Saheli Women’s Resource Centre
45 South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Canada
46 South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM)
47 URO, Bhopal
48 Wada Na Todo Abhiyan
49 Women in Governance (WinG)
50 WSS (Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repressions)

Individuals/Activists
1 Aaditya Deskhmukh Symbiosis Law School, Pune
2 Aakar Patel Amnesty International India
3 Aarthi Pai Lawyer, Bangalore
4 Abha Bhaiya
5 Achin Vanaik
6 Adikanda Singh
7 Adilur Rahman Khan Odhikar
8 Aditya Nigam Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)
9 Aditya Shrivastava Support Cell for Civil Society Organisations
10 Ajay Bhardwaj Documentary Filmmaker
11 Ajay Kumar VB RIGHTS, Trivandrum
12 Ajaya Kumar Singh
13 Akhand Human Rights Activist, Odisha
14 Akhila Vidyasandra
15 Aloysius
16 Amar Jesani
17 Amit Sengupta Journalist
18 Amita Joseph
19 Amitabh Behar National Foundation for India
20 Amrita Chhachhi
21 Amrita Johri Satark Nagrik Sangathan
22 Amritra Sudan Chakrabortty MANAB, West Bengal
23 Anand Lakhan Deen Bandhu Sahayata Samiti (DBSS)
24 Anjali Alexander
25 Anjali Bhardwaj Satark Nagrik Sangathan
26 Annie Raja NFIW
27 Anubha Rajesh Senior Manager ICF International
28 Anuradha Kapoor
29 Apoorvanand University of Delhi
30 Arun Jindal Society for Sustainable Development, Rajasthan
31 Aruna Burte
32 Aruna Roy MKSS
33 Arundhati Dhuru NAPM
34 Asad Zaidi Three Essays Collective
35 Asha Singh
36 Ashish Kothari Kalpavriksh, Pune
37 Ashok Agrwaal
38 Ashok Kumar Singh South Asia Center for Bhojpuri Studies
39 Asim Sarode Advocate
40 Asmita Basu
41 Avinash Kumar
42 Ayesha Kidwai
43 B.S. Ajeetha Advocate, Chennai
44 Babloo Loitongbham Human Rights Alert
45 Bela Bhatia Activist
46 Bezwada Wilson Safai Karamchari Andolan
47 Bharti Ali HAQ Centre for Child Rights
48 Bharti Sharma
49 Bijoy Basant Patro
50 Bindu N Doddahatti Advocate
51 Biplab Mukherjee Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Manch (MASUM)
52 Biraj Patnaik Centre for Equity Studies
53 Bizeth Banerjee
54 Brinelle D’Souza TISS
55 C.P. Sujaya
56 Chayanika Shah
57 Chirashree Ghosh Senior Manager Mobile Creches
58 D. Thankappan Kamani Employees’ Union
59 D.W. Karuna Researcher, Chennai
60 Deepa SAMA
61 Deepa Venkatachallam
62 Denzil Fernandes SJ Executive Director Indian Social Institute
63 Devika Singh Mobile Creches
64 Dr. Ambrose Pinto SJ Principal St. Aloysius Degree College, Bangalore
65 Dr. Aurobindo Ghose Advocate
66 Dr. Gabriele Deitrich Madurai
67 Dr. Gnana Prakasam Executive Director Centre for World Solidarity
68 Dr. Goldy M. George Chief Editor Journal of People’s Studies
69 Dr. Indira Hirway Director and Professor of Economics Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad
70 Dr. J. Vincent Manoharan Lawyer, Dalit Rights Defender
71 Dr. Jasveen Jairath Water Sector Professional and Activist
72 Dr. Meena Dhanda Reader in Philosophy and Cultural Polictics
73 Dr. Mira Shiva
74 Dr. Mohan Rao Professor Jawaharlal Nehru University
75 Dr. Nandita Gandhi Social Researcher and Activist, Mumbai
76 Dr. Nandita Shah Women’s Rights Activist, Mumbai
77 Dr. Narendra Gupta PRAYAS, Chittorgarh
78 Dr. Nimalka Fernando President IMADR
79 Dr. Sandeep Pandey
80 Dr. Shakeel Executive Director Centre for Health and Resource Management
81 Dr. Shilpa Phadke Tata Institute of Social Sciences
82 Dr. Sophy K.J. Assistant Professor National Law University, Delhi
83 Dr. Sunita Bandewar Research Professional in Global Health and Bioethics, Pune
84 Dr. Vandana Prasad
85 Dr. Vikas Bajpai Assistant Professor Jawaharlal Nehru University
86 Dr. Walter Fernandes Senior Fellow North Eastern Social Research Centre
87 Dunu Roy
88 Enakshi Ganguly HAQ Centre for Child Rights
89 Farah Naqvi Writer and Activist
90 Fr. Cedric Prakash Human Rights Activist
91 Gagan Sethi
92 Gautam Mody General Secretary New Trade Union Initiative
93 Geetha Nambisan Management Professional
94 Ghanshyam Shah Retired Professor Jawaharlal Nehru University
95 Haris Azhar KontraS, Indonesia
96 Harsh Jaitli
97 Harsh Kapoor
98 Harsh Mander Aman Biradari
99 Hasina Khan
100 Hazel D’Lima Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai
101 Hazim Rashid
102 Henri Tiphagne Human Rights Defenders’ Alert – India
103 Indu Prakash Singh National Convenor National Forum for Housing Rights
104 Ingrid Srinath HIVOS India.
105 J. Moses Secretary YMCA
106 Jagmati Sangwan AIDWA
107 Jahnvi Andharia
108 James Dabhi Research Director Human Development and Research Centre, Ahmedabad
109 Jashodhara Dasgupta
110 Javed Anand Journalist and Human Rights Activist
111 Jaya Iyer Zinda Dilli
112 Jayati Ghosh Jawaharlal Nehru University
113 Jeevika Shiv Advocate
114 Jitendra Chahar
115 John Dalton Arogyam Agam
116 John Dayal Activist and writer
117 John Harriss Simon Fraser University, Canada
118 John Samuel
119 Joseph William
120 K Ashok Rao
121 K. Joshi Human Rights Defender, Andhra Pradesh
122 Kabi S
123 Kabi Sherman
124 Kalyani Menon-Sen Feminist Learning Partnerships
125 Kalyani Raj
126 Kamayani Bali Mahabal Human Rights Activist, Mumbai
127 Karen Gabriel
128 Karthik Bittu University of Hyderabad
129 Kavita Krishnan All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA)
130 Kavita Srivastava PUCL
131 Kuldip Chand
132 Kumar John Director Social Watch, Chennai
133 Kumar Kalanand Mani Peaceful Society
134 Kumar Sundaram IndiaResists.com
135 Lakshan Dias Lawyer Lakshan Dias Associates
136 Lata Singh Jawaharlal Nehru University
137 Lesley Esteves LGBT Rights Activist
138 M. A. Patil Vice President New Trade Union Initiative
139 M. Nizamudeen CONFET
140 Madhu Sarin
141 Madhusree Dutta
142 Maitreyi Gupta Women’s Rights Lawyer, Bangkok
143 Mallika Sarabhai Social Activist
144 Mamta Borgoyary CEO FXB India Suraksha
145 Mandeep Tiwana Head of Policy and Research CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation
146 Manisha Gupte Women’s Health Activist, Pune
147 Manisha Sethi Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association
148 Manohar Elavarthi Political Activist, Bangalore
149 Manoj Mitta Journalist
150 Manu Alphonse
151 Mary E John Professor Centre for Women’s Development Studies
152 Mathew Cherian Chairman VANI
153 Maya Shanker Sangini, New Delhi
154 Mazher Hussain
155 Meena Gopal Tata Institute of Social Sciences
156 Meena Menon
157 Meena Seshu Sangram
158 Meenakshi Ganguly
159 MG Devasahayam
160 Mira Shiva
161 Monica Sakhrani
162 Monisha Behal
163 Mridula Bajaj
164 Mujahid Nafees
165 Mukul Mangalik Ramjas College, University of Delhi
166 N. D. Pancholi PUCL
167 N. Vasudevan President New Trade Union Initiative
168 N.D. Jayaprakash
169 Nafisa D’Souza Executive Director LAYA, Visakhapatnam
170 Nalini Taneja Delhi University
171 Nandan Maluste
172 Nandini Rao
173 Nandini Sundar Delhi University
174 Nandita Narain Associate Professor St. Stephen’s College
175 Navsharan Singh
176 Neelanjana Mukhia
177 Neelima Sharma Theatre Person
178 Neeru Bhatnagar Mobile Creches
179 Nikhil Dey MKSS
180 Nina Rao
181 Nirmala Karunan Greenpeace India
182 Nishit Kumar CHILDLINE India Foundation
183 Niti Saxena
184 Nivedita Menon Jawaharlal Nehru University
185 Ovais Sultan Khan ANHAD
186 P. Joseph Victor Raj HOPE, Puducherry
187 P.K. Vijayan
188 P.R. Ramesh
189 Padma Deosthali CEHAT
190 Padmini Swaminathan Professor Tata Institute of Social Sciences
191 Pamela Philipose
192 Pankaj Butalia Filmmaker
193 Paul Divakar National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights
194 Pawan Dhall
195 Poulomi Pal
196 Prabhat Patnaik Economist and Political Commentator
197 Pradeep Baisakh Social Activist and Independent Journalist
198 Pradeep Esteves Developmental Activist Context India
199 Pradipta Nayak IHRE, Odisha
200 Pramada Menon
201 Pramada Menon
202 Prasad Chacko Director Human Development and Research Centre, Ahmedabad
203 Prathibha Sivasubramanian
204 Priya Pillai Greenpeace India
205 Prof. Anuradha Chenoy
206 Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy
207 Prof. Kim, Yong-Bock Chancellor Asia Pacific Center for Integral Study of Life
208 Purnima Upadhyay Khoj, Melghat
209 Purwa Bharadwaj
210 Pushkar Raj Writer
211 Pushpa Achanta
212 PVS Giridhar Advocate, Chennai
213 R. Umamaheshwari
214 Radhika Desai
215 Raj Mahey
216 Rajalakshmi Sriram Professor Emeritus University of Baroda
217 Rajendra Sail Former President PUCL Chhattisgarh
218 Rakhi Sehgal
219 Ram Puniyani All India Secular Forum
220 Rama Sarode Advocate
221 Rama Srinivasan
222 Ridhima Mehra
223 Rita Manchanda South Asia Forum for Human Rights
224 Rita Taku ACR, Arunachal Pradesh
225 Ritambhara Mehta Nazariya: A Queer Feminist Resource Group
226 Rituparna Borah Nazariya: A Queer Feminist Resource Group
227 Roger Gaikwad General Secretary NCCI
228 Rohit Prajapati Activist, Gujarat
229 Roma All India Union of Forest Working People
230 Roshni Nuggehalli Yuva
231 Ruki Fernando Human Rights Activist, Sri Lanka
232 Rupal Oza Associate Professor Hunter College, City University of New York
233 S. Srinivasan
234 Sandhya Gokhale
235 Sandhya Srinivasan Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
236 Sandipan Paul
237 Sandya Srinivasan Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
238 Sarojini N. B.
239 Satish Deshpande
240 Satish Singh Forum to Engage Men (FEM)
241 Seema Misra
242 Shabnam Hashmi
Anhad
243 Shamsul Islam Academician
244 Shankar Singh MKSS
245 Shantha Sinha
246 Sharad Behar
247 Sharmila Purkayastha Miranda House
248 Shashi Sail Chhattisgarh Mahila Jagriti Sangathan
249 Sister Carol Geeta Sameeksha, Ajmer
250 Sister Superior Sameeksha, Ajmer
251 Sreedharan Nair Independent Consultant
252 Stalin K Video Volunteers
253 Stan Swamy
254 Subash Mohapatra Global Human Rights Communications
255 Subhash Mendhapurkar SUTRA, Himachal Pradesh
256 Subhashini Ali
257 Sudeshna Sengupta Mobile Creches
258 Sudhir Kumar Katiyar Dakshini Rajasthan Majdoor Union
259 Suhas Kolhekar Vikalpa Sangam
260 Suhasini Mulay Actor
261 Sujata Ghotoskar Researcher and Activist, Mumbai
262 Sujata Patel President Indian Sociological Society
263 Sumitra Mishra
264 Suneeta Dhar Activist
265 Suresh Bhat
266 Sushant Stanley IRDWSI
267 Svati P. Shah
268 Swarna Rajagopalan
269 Syeda Hameed
270 Tanushree Gangopadhyay
271 Tapan Bose
272 Teesta Setalvad Journalist and Human Rights Activist
273 Tenzing
274 Theo van Boven Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
275 Thomas Pallithanam People’s Action for Rural Awakening
276 Udaya Kalupathirana Human Rights Activist, Sri Lanka
277 Ujjwala Mhatre
278 Uma Chakravarthi
279 Uma Chandru
280 Urvashi Butalia
281 V. Vasanthi Devi Former Chairperson Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women
282 V.B. Chandrasekaran Chatti Mahatma Gandhi Aashramam, Andhra Pradesh
283 Valay Singh
284 Vani Subramanian Saheli Women’s Resource Centre
285 Veena Gowda
286 Veena Johari Lawyer
287 Veena Shatrugna Former Deputy Director National Institute of Nutrition
288 Venu Arora Executive Director Ideosync Media Combine
289 Vidyasagar Ramamurthy Retired UNICEF
290 Vijay Mandake
291 Vijayan MJ General Secretary Programme for Social Action
292 Vikash Kumar Consultant Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
293 Vineet Tiwari General Secretary Madhya Pradesh Progressive Writers Association
294 Vineeta Bal Scientist
295 Virginia Saldanha Indian Christian Women’s Movement.
296 Vrinda Grover Advocate and Activist
297 Warisha Farasat Advocate
298 William Gomes Journalist, UK
299 William Stanley
300 Xavier Dias Editor Khan Kaneej aur Adhikar
301 Zahoor Wani APDP
302 Zakiya Kurrien