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- Rights
- Rule of law
- Niches
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- In focus
- Multimedia
- Art, literature and more
- Special issues
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]OMEN'S groups from across the country have strongly and unequivocally protested against the FIR that has been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against the Lawyers Collective (LC), its founder Anand Grover and other known and unknown functionaries of LC, calling it an attempt to impede the access to justice for the most marginalized.
"As women's groups working for the empowerment and liberation of all women and marginalised communities, we condemn this brazen targeting of senior advocates and human rights defenders and call upon the Union Government and its instruments to cease the harassment of the Lawyers Collective and withdraw the case against them," a statement released today by a group of women activists, said, while describing the FIR as a "blatant" attempt to silence LC, Indira Jaising and Anand Grover.
Accusing the authorities of harassing Jaising and Grover for fearlessly speaking out against the government's actions "which have been corroding the spirit of the Constitution" and the problems within the Judiciary, the group asked, "Why should these two stalwarts of human rights, whose role in society has been crucial to guaranteeing and safeguarding of democracy and the rule of law, be targeted by the government?"
"They have consistently raised the issue of governmental accountability. That seems to be the reason that they are being harassed," the statement asserted.
Defending the democratic rights of citizens has acquired a new meaning as a direct result of Jaising and Grover's work and to accuse such lawyers and their organisation of receiving funds for activities not listed as objectives in the Memorandum of Association reflects a very poor understanding of the Indian Constitution and is "a sinister design to roll back the gains of women's movements in India", the statement said.
"The Lawyers Collective, Anand Grover and Indira Jaising as legal practitioners, have provided legal representation and voice to the most vulnerable and have sought accountability from the most powerful.
"It is our collective loss, not hers alone, just as the threat is to us all, through her. We stand with them in this fight for accountability since we believe that a democracy needs dissenting voices and the freedom of expression to begin widespread public conversations," the women's groups asserted.
