Published: February 5, 2014 13:49 IST | Updated: February 5, 2014 13:49 IST
Published: February 5, 2014 13:49 IST | Updated: February 5, 2014 13:49 IST
Delhi HC asks AAP to reply to PIL on foreign funding
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought responses from AAP and its founding members, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on a plea for registration of a criminal case on the ground that the newly formed party allegedly received foreign funding in violation of various laws.“Let a copy of this writ petition be supplied to Prashant Bhushan who appeared on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party. Let a response be filed four days prior to February 28, the next date of hearing,” a bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog said.Mr. Bhushan, who has also been made a party in the petition besides AAP, accepted the notice and strongly opposed the earlier submissions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that the party and its leaders have not responded to the queries on foreign funding.“A misleading statement was made on behalf of the government counsel on the last date of the hearing that we have not responded to the queries. Each and every query has been responded to in great detail,” he said.Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra, appearing for MHA, said, “I did not say that they (AAP) are not providing information. What I had said was that the information regarding the bank details was not provided.”“You had said that,” the bench said and fixed the matter for further hearing on February 28. The Centre had earlier told the court that AAP leaders, including Mr. Kejriwal, had not provided the information sought by it on the funding received by the party.Besides Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Bhushan, petitioner advocate M.L. Sharma has made AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Shanti Bhushan as parties in his PIL.The bench earlier asked Mr. Sharma to also implead AAP as one of the respondents in his PIL.The High Court said the Centre should look “afresh” into the accounts of AAP to find out the source of money received by it after its inception.The order came after the Centre filed a report in which it said that an evaluation of the accounts of civil society of Team Anna was done in 2012 and a report was filed before another bench of the high court last year in a similar PIL filed by the petitioner.The Centre earlier submitted before the court that the issue raised by the petitioner in his PIL was already investigated and a report was prepared on them by the government.Mr. Sharma, in his plea, had cited some names including that of Mr. Kejriwal and sought that “a direction be issued to register a criminal case against the respondents (AAP members) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and to conduct day-to-day trial proceedings under court supervision in the interest of justice”.http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-hc-asks-aap-to-reply-to-pil-on-foreign-funding/article5656393.ece
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought responses from AAP and its founding members, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on a plea for registration of a criminal case on the ground that the newly formed party allegedly received foreign funding in violation of various laws.
“Let a copy of this writ petition be supplied to Prashant Bhushan who appeared on behalf of Aam Aadmi Party. Let a response be filed four days prior to February 28, the next date of hearing,” a bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog said.
Mr. Bhushan, who has also been made a party in the petition besides AAP, accepted the notice and strongly opposed the earlier submissions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that the party and its leaders have not responded to the queries on foreign funding.
“A misleading statement was made on behalf of the government counsel on the last date of the hearing that we have not responded to the queries. Each and every query has been responded to in great detail,” he said.
Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra, appearing for MHA, said, “I did not say that they (AAP) are not providing information. What I had said was that the information regarding the bank details was not provided.”
“You had said that,” the bench said and fixed the matter for further hearing on February 28. The Centre had earlier told the court that AAP leaders, including Mr. Kejriwal, had not provided the information sought by it on the funding received by the party.
Besides Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Bhushan, petitioner advocate M.L. Sharma has made AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Shanti Bhushan as parties in his PIL.
The bench earlier asked Mr. Sharma to also implead AAP as one of the respondents in his PIL.
The High Court said the Centre should look “afresh” into the accounts of AAP to find out the source of money received by it after its inception.
The order came after the Centre filed a report in which it said that an evaluation of the accounts of civil society of Team Anna was done in 2012 and a report was filed before another bench of the high court last year in a similar PIL filed by the petitioner.
The Centre earlier submitted before the court that the issue raised by the petitioner in his PIL was already investigated and a report was prepared on them by the government.
Mr. Sharma, in his plea, had cited some names including that of Mr. Kejriwal and sought that “a direction be issued to register a criminal case against the respondents (AAP members) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and to conduct day-to-day trial proceedings under court supervision in the interest of justice”.
AAP's Manish Sisodia under cloud for 'misuse' of NGO's foreign funds
This time, the party's second-in-command and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide, Manish Sisodia, is alleged to have diverted foreign funds meant for his NGO, Kabir, for personal use.
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NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of reports about law minister Somnath Bharti's alleged spamming days comes another embarrassment for the Aam Aadmi Party government that only a month ago was riding high on the promise of corruption-free governance.
This time, the party's second-in-command and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide, Manish Sisodia, is alleged to have diverted foreign funds meant for his NGO, Kabir, for personal use. Kejriwal is a governing body member of this NGO that works in the right to information (RTI) sphere.
The case is old and an inspection by the home ministry's controller of accounts in 2012 concluded: "In several cases, payments are not supported with relevant documents and are routed through Manish Sisodia in cash". The alleged irregularities include payment of rent to Sisodia's wife without receipts, unexplained travel expenses and even a "reimbursement" to Sisodia for servicing his car.
Kabir paid Rs 17.7 lakh to RTI activists throughout the country from 2008 to 2011-2012 but their agreements with it were not shown to the team. It also could not provide the inspection party any documentary evidence for salary and allowances paid to employees.
The NGO had received more than Rs 2 crore in foreign contributions between 2005-06 and 2010-11 and the inspection was done in accordance with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, covering the period from 2005-06 to 2011-12. Sisodia, talking to TOI, said they have been cleared by the court in this matter and it has been raked up to politically target him.
Sisodia, the inspection report states, ran the NGO from his residence in Pandav Nagar and his wife Seema was paid Rs 12,000 per month as rent for it but no rent receipt was made available. Kabir's rent agreement with her was not shown to the team. The NGO's cash books from 2006 to 2008 were missing and Sisodia told the team they had been lost while relocating the office.
The report states Sisodia was paid Rs 17,900 on July 11, 2008 for a trip to Dehradun but the bill shows vehicles were hired for a six-day Delhi-Bahraich-Delhi tour. Also, the purpose of the tour, number of travellers and the list of toll paid are not mentioned. "Prima facie, it seems an example of embezzlement," says the report.
Sisodia was paid Rs 6,656 on November 23, 2008 for a Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi tour but his co-travellers, Divya Jyoti and Bibhav Kumar, are not on Kabir's board. He was paid Rs 2,496 on April 23, 2008 for a visit to Chitrakoot but it is not clear whether the tour was official.
Sisodia "reimbursed" Rs 3,900 on August 11, 2008 for servicing his Alto car. "This again is an evidence of embezzlement of foreign grants for personal use," the report says.
This time, the party's second-in-command and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide, Manish Sisodia, is alleged to have diverted foreign funds meant for his NGO, Kabir, for personal use. Kejriwal is a governing body member of this NGO that works in the right to information (RTI) sphere.
The case is old and an inspection by the home ministry's controller of accounts in 2012 concluded: "In several cases, payments are not supported with relevant documents and are routed through Manish Sisodia in cash". The alleged irregularities include payment of rent to Sisodia's wife without receipts, unexplained travel expenses and even a "reimbursement" to Sisodia for servicing his car.
Kabir paid Rs 17.7 lakh to RTI activists throughout the country from 2008 to 2011-2012 but their agreements with it were not shown to the team. It also could not provide the inspection party any documentary evidence for salary and allowances paid to employees.
The NGO had received more than Rs 2 crore in foreign contributions between 2005-06 and 2010-11 and the inspection was done in accordance with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, covering the period from 2005-06 to 2011-12. Sisodia, talking to TOI, said they have been cleared by the court in this matter and it has been raked up to politically target him.
Sisodia, the inspection report states, ran the NGO from his residence in Pandav Nagar and his wife Seema was paid Rs 12,000 per month as rent for it but no rent receipt was made available. Kabir's rent agreement with her was not shown to the team. The NGO's cash books from 2006 to 2008 were missing and Sisodia told the team they had been lost while relocating the office.
The report states Sisodia was paid Rs 17,900 on July 11, 2008 for a trip to Dehradun but the bill shows vehicles were hired for a six-day Delhi-Bahraich-Delhi tour. Also, the purpose of the tour, number of travellers and the list of toll paid are not mentioned. "Prima facie, it seems an example of embezzlement," says the report.
Sisodia was paid Rs 6,656 on November 23, 2008 for a Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi tour but his co-travellers, Divya Jyoti and Bibhav Kumar, are not on Kabir's board. He was paid Rs 2,496 on April 23, 2008 for a visit to Chitrakoot but it is not clear whether the tour was official.
Sisodia "reimbursed" Rs 3,900 on August 11, 2008 for servicing his Alto car. "This again is an evidence of embezzlement of foreign grants for personal use," the report says.