A public interest litigation filed before the Delhi High Court has raised questions about political interference with regard to enforcement of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The plea has now sought directions to set up an independent body to look into the matter. The plea, moved by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), said enforcement of the FCRA was strict for NGOs but “not so convincing on legislators and politicians”. The process was not transparent and was clouded with executive discretion, it said.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath has now sought the Centre’s response on Friday, while asking Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain to get instructions from the Union government.
The ADR, represented by Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, pointed out that a High Court judgment on March 28 last year had indicted the Congress and the BJP for violating the FCRA and also indicted the Centre for supporting them against the provisions of law.
“Despite the judgment, the Union of India has not taken any action against these national parties, which demonstrates the need for an independent body to administer and enforce the FCRA,” said the petition.
The matter has been fixed for hearing on November 13. “There is no progress on complaints against the political executives and legislators, while too much attention is focused on NGO transactions,” the petition added.
According to the petition, since the NGOs’ struggle against status quo could be tantamount to a fight against the government, there was a possibility that the FCRA could be used as an instrument of State oppression, as could be inferred from some of the prosecutions. It also pointed out that there were laws in several countries such as the US, Canada and France, which prohibited political parties and legislators from accepting foreign donations and hospitality. In these countries, there are independent institutions in place to oversee alleged violations of laws and enforce them through a transparent process.
