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A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud issued notice on a petition filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and former Secretary to the Government of India Mr. E.A.S. Sarma challenging the amendments made to the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act, 2018 (FRCA) through the Finance Act, 2016, and Finance Act, 2018, which has been passed as a Money Bill with retrospective effect from the year 1976.
The petitioners alleged that the amendments have been introduced in order to overturn the judgment passed by the Delhi High Court in March, 2014, finding BJP and Congress of having taken foreign funding and violating the FCRA. SLPs against the High Court judgment were also dismissed as withdrawn by the Supreme Court.
The petitioners have now alleged that the amendments are a desperate effort to “condone their guilt”. They allege violation of the doctrine of separation of powers, pointing out that the amendments were introduced through a Money Bill, thereby bypassing the Rajya Sabha. The amendment to FRCA through Finance Act, 2018, certainly does not qualify as a Money Bill.
They have further contended that the amendments would lead to creation of shell companies and rise of benami transactions to channelize the undocumented money into the political and electoral process in India and also claim it to be a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. It, therefore, demands that the amendments be struck down as being “void, illegal and unconstitutional”.
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