FIR against Lawyers’ Collective a ‘witch-hunt’ of outspoken human rights defenders

Counterview Desk
In a statement, Ravi Kiran Jain* and Dr V Suresh** of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) have said the CBI’s FIR against the Lawyers’ Collective and senior advocate Anand Grover is an undisguised attempt to silence not just the top human rights organization but is also meant to “serve as a lesson to all others who dare to challenge the Central Government.”
Calling the FIR “motivated, vengeful and vituperative act”, PUCL said the Lawyers’ Collective, which has for 38 years of its existence has taken up cases related with domestic violence, human rights, labour and womens’ rights, adding, among the important ones are the “Naz case on rights of the LGBTQ community, the Novartis case, the Sabarimala case, the triple talaaq case and the Sohrabuddin case, in which current Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah was involved.”
Demanding immediate withdrawal of the FIR, PUCL said, “The case lodged against the organization smacks of vendetta for its exceptional work on securing rights for the marginalized. It is ill-conceived, vindictive, politically motivated and designed to have a chilling effect on all those who raise a voice of dissent.”

Text of the statement:

People’s Union for Civil Liberties is shocked at the lodging of an FIR against the Lawyers Collective, its President and senior lawyer, Anand Grover. and other office bearers by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). We condemn this vindictive and utterly unjustified act against this well-known human rights and legal aid organization with a long history of fighting for the rights of ordinary people.
PUCL deplores this undisguised attempt to intimidate and silence Grover, as well as legal luminary and co-founder of Lawyers Collective, Indira Jaising, and office bearers of the organization.
The lodging of the FIR by the CBI is nothing short of a brazen abuse of the process of law. The FIR follows an investigation into allegations of violation of provisions of the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010, launched in 2016. Then, orders for the suspension and cancellation of LC’s registration to receive foreign funding were passed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Lawyers Collective has refuted all the charges against it.
Besides, the organization had challenged the cancellation of its FCRA registration in an appeal before the Bombay High Court, which is pending. The complaint registered against the Lawyers Collective, and its key functionaries, Ms. Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, constitutes a motivated, vengeful and vituperative act meant to silence not just the Lawyers Collective but also serve as a lesson to all others who dare to challenge the Central Government.
An extremely disturbing aspect of the case against Lawyers’ Collective is the manner in which it follows so closely on the heels of an extremely dubious PIL filed in the Supreme Court of India by `Lawyers Voice’, a self-styled organization headed by Neeraj, said to be a member of the legal cell of the ruling BJP. Jaising has stood in defence of human rights defenders and was vocal on the procedural irregularities in the recent sexual harassment case in the Supreme Court.
On May 8 this year, amidst vociferous protests of prominent lawyers and activists over the failure of due process in the sexual harassment charge against the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, the latter heard and issued notice on the PIL, which sought an SIT probe into the ‘inaction’ of the Central government against the lawyers and their organization.
Seen against this backdrop, the sudden registration of FIR by the CBI strongly indicates a witch-hunt against two of the most outspoken and important human rights defenders in India. Indeed, a major aspect of the case made out against the organization was that its work violated various guidelines of the FCRA regulations including in lobbying work for passage of crucial rights protection legislations!
It’s important to point out that the Lawyers’ Collective and its team have taken up important cases throughout the 38 years of their existence. Apart from a range of cases relating to domestic violence, human rights, labour and womens’ rights, the Lawyers’ Collective has taken up the important Naz case on rights of the LGBTQ community, the Novartis case, the Sabarimala case, the triple talaaq case and the Sohrabuddin case, in which current Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah was involved.
Grover has held an important position as the UN Special Rapporteur on right to health from August 2008 to July 2014. He is currently an acting member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and is a member of the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights while Jaising was part of the team of lawyers for the accused in the ongoing Bhima Koregaon case as well as the case against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, where she successfully fought the plea of the CBI to seek his custodial interrogation.
Clearly, the current dispensation finds such voices of conscience, as the Lawyers’ Collective and its office-bearers have been, as uncomfortable and inconvenient. The case lodged against the organization smacks of vendetta for its exceptional work on securing rights for the marginalized. It is ill-conceived, vindictive, politically motivated and designed to have a chilling effect on all those who raise a voice of dissent.
PUCL demands that the state desist from these continuous attempts to browbeat the senior lawyers, Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, by embroiling them in multiple legal cases and procedures and misusing its powers to order the arrest and detention of all dissenters. PUCL demands that this witch-hunt against lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders cease forthwith.
PUCL demands that the case against the Lawyers Collective be dropped forthwith.
---
*National President, **National General Secretary, PUCL

Comments

US-China truce temporary, larger trade war between two economies to continue

By Prabir Purkayastha The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan, South Korea on 30 October 2025 may have brought about a temporary relief in the US-China trade war. But unless we see the fine print of the agreement, it is difficult to assess whether this is a temporary truce or the beginning of a real rapprochement between the two nations. The jury is still out on that one and we will wait for a better understanding of what has really been achieved in Busan.

When growth shrinks people: Capitalism and the biological decline of the U.S. population

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Critically acclaimed Hungarian-American economic historian and distinguished scholar of economic anthropometric history, Prof. John Komlos (Professor Emeritus, University of Munich), who pioneered the study of the history of human height and weight, has published an article titled “The Decline in the Physical Stature of the U.S. Population Parallels the Diminution in the Rate of Increase in Life Expectancy” on October 31, 2025, in the forthcoming issue of Social Science & Medicine (SSM) – Population Health, Volume 32, December 2025. The findings of the article present a damning critique of the barbaric nature of capitalism and its detrimental impact on human health, highlighting that the average height of Americans began to decline during the era of free-market capitalism. The study draws on an analysis of 17 surveys from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (...

Is vaccine the Voldemort of modern medicine to be left undiscussed, unscrutinised?

By Deepika* Sridhar Vembu of Zoho stirred up an internet storm by tweeting about the possible link of autism to the growing number of vaccines given to children in India . He had only asked the parents to analyse the connection but doctors, so called public health experts vehemently started opposing Vembu's claims, labeling them "dangerous misinformation" that could erode “vaccine trust”!

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria* Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

Govt claims about 'revolutionary' rice varieties raise eyebrows: SC order reserved since Jan '24

By Rosamma Thomas * In a matter of grave importance for agriculture, public health awaits Supreme Court ruling, even as top Government of India bureaucrats stand accused of “willful and deliberate disobedience” of the top court. While a contempt petition filed by Aruna Rodrigues , lead petitioner in the Genetic Modification (GM) of crops matter remains pending in the Supreme Court since July 2025, the Union ministry of agriculture asserts that two home-grown gene edited rice varieties are of superior quality, and hold potential for “revolutionary changes in higher production, climate adaptability, and water conservation.” In May 2025, the Press Information Bureau released a press release stating that a “historic milestone” had been reached, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ; the new varieties, DRR Rice 100 (Kamla) and Pusa DST Rice 1 , the press release stated, offer both benefits – increased production and environmental conservation.

Gujarat civil society to move Supreme Court against controversial electoral roll revision

By Rajiv Shah A recent, well-attended meeting of Gujarat civil society activists in Ahmedabad , held to discuss the impact of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court against the controversial exercise initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) across the country. Announcing this, senior High Court advocate Anand Yagnik , who heads the Gujarat chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said that a committee has already been formed to examine the pros and cons of SIR. “While the SIR exercise began in Gujarat on November 4 and is scheduled to continue for a month, we will file a supporting petition in the case against SIR in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court after observing how it proceeds in the state,” he said. Yagnik’s announcement followed senior advocate Shahrukh Alam —who is arguing the SIR case in the Supreme Court—urging Gujarat’s civil society to also file ...

Banks, investors pour $52 billion into metallurgical coal expansion despite global climate pledges

By A Representative A new report by the German environmental and human rights NGO Urgewald has revealed that banks and institutional investors have poured nearly $52 billion into the expansion of metallurgical coal, or “met coal,” despite global commitments to phase out coal financing. Between 2022 and 2024, banks provided $21.96 billion in loans and underwriting to met coal developers, while investors held $30.23 billion in securities of companies expanding coal mining operations. The report, Still Burning: How Banks and Investors Fuel Met Coal Expansion, warns that loopholes in coal exit policies have allowed continued support for coal used in steelmaking — a sector responsible for about 11% of global CO₂ emissions.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Trump escalates threats of war against Venezuela, as millions in US set to lose essential benefits

By Manolo De Los Santos The United States government is in the grips of one of its longest-running funding gaps in history. The ongoing government shutdown has already stretched beyond 30 days and now, the food security of millions of Americans is at risk as the funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is drying up and Trump officials have refused to tap into contingency funds . Approximately 42 million individuals per month rely on SNAP benefits and are set to lose them beginning on November 1.

Search This Blog