Below is the response of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President, RS Suri to the article on Bar & Bench on cancellation of FCRA registration of SCBA.
This is in reference to the article dated September 15, 2017 covered by the Bar and Bench; authored by Mr. Aditya AK title as “Home Ministry cancels Supreme Court Bar Association FCRA registration”.
The treasurer Mr. Meenesh Dubey and the Secretary Mr. Gaurav Bhatia of the SCBA have checked all the past records. They have not come across either any application to apply for foreign funds nor any receipt of accepting the foreign funds. Therefore, there was never any obligation for the SCBA to file returns for the period extending from 2010-11 to 2014-15 under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010.
On query, the auditors of the SCBA accounts have confirmed that no foreign funds have been received by the SCBA under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010.
I have personally spoken to the past Presidents and Office bearers of the SCBA; none of them are aware of any such foreign funds being received.
Our Bar has always complied with the legal formalities and shall continue to do so without fail.