Supreme Court Again Deprecates Practice of Summoninsarily To Court

10/22/21, 3:18 PM Supreme Court Again Deprecates Practice Of Summoning Public Officers Unnecessarily To Court
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Home / Top Stories / Supreme Court Again...
TOP STORIES
Supreme Court Again Deprecates Practice Of

Summoning Public Officers Unnecessarily To
Court
LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 19 Oct 2021 8:08 PM
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https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-practice-summoning-public-officers-prathama-suneel-kumar-ll-2021-sc-575-183911 1/27
The Supreme Court has again deprecated the practice of summoning public officers
unnecessarily to the court.
In this case, the Allahabad High Court had summoned the Chairman of the Gramin
Bank while considering a writ petition filed by a workman challenging his termination.
The Court also directed the Regional Manager of the Bank to appear in person and to
file affidavit stating the number of staffs working in the Bank as Daily Wager. The Bank
challenged these orders before the Apex Court.
Also Read - FCRA Amendments Aim To Prevent Foreign Powers Interfering With
Internal Polity, Diversion Of Funds By NGO : Centre Tells Supreme Court
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"We find that there is no reason for the High Court to summon the Chairman and
Regional Manager of the Bank. If the High Court was so sure of the order of
termination is contrary to law, the High Court would be well within its jurisdiction to
pass such an order but summoning of the officers, discharging public duties, is clearly
unwarranted. ", the bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and V.
Ramasubramanian said.
Also Read - Filling Up Of Consumer Commission Vacancies Must Not Be Impeded
By Bombay HC Judgment Quashing Consumer Protection Rules : Supreme Court
Clarifies
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The court noted that in a recent judgment titled State of Uttar Pradesh vs Manoj
Kumar Sharma' LL 2021 SC 289, it had already commented adversely against the
practice of the Officers being summoned to the Court.
The court, therefore set aside the direction to summon the officers of the Bank.
However, the Bank shall file affidavit as directed within four weeks from today, the
bench said.
In its judgment delivered in July 2021, the Court had observed that public officers
should not be called to court unnecessarily. Summoning of officers frequently is not
appreciable at all and is liable to be condemned in the strongest words, the bench
comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta had said. The court had
observed thus: "Thus, we feel, it is time to reiterate that public officers should not be
called to court unnecessarily. The dignity and majesty of the Court is not enhanced
when an officer is called to court. Respect to the court has to be commanded and not
demanded and the same is not enhanced by calling public officers. The presence of
public officer comes at the cost of other official engagement demanding their
attention. Sometimes, the officers even have to travel long distance. Therefore,
summoning of the officer is against the public interest as many important tasks
entrusted to him gets delayed, creating extra burden on the officer or delaying the
decisions awaiting his opinion. The Court proceedings also take time, as there is no
mechanism of fixed time hearing in Courts as of now. The Courts have the power of
pen which is more effective than the presence of an officer in Court. If any particular
issue arises for consideration before the Court and the Advocate representing the
State is not able to answer, it is advised to write such doubt in the order and give time
to the State or its officers to respond."
Also Read - West Bengal's Suit Against CBI FIRs : Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing
To November 16
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Case name and Citation: Prathama U.P Gramin Bank vs Suneel Kumar LL 2021
SC 575
Case no. and Date: CA 6316 OF 2021 | 8 October 2021
Coram: Justices Hemant Gupta and V. Ramasubramanian
Click here to Read/Download Order
Page 1 of 3
WWW.LIVELAW.IN
1
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF
CIVIL APPELLATE
INDIA
JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO.6316 OF

(@ SLP(C)
2021
No.12724/2021)
PRATHAMA U.P GRAMIN BANK & ANR. Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
SUNEEL KUMAR Respondent(s)
ORDER
Leave granted.
The challenge in the present appeal is to an order passed by
the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 02.08.2021 whereby the
High Court has summoned the Charmain of the appellant-Bank to
apprise him the manner in which the officers of the Bank are
working. The Court also directed the Regional Manager of the Bank
to appear in person and to file affidavit stating the number of
staffs working in the Bank as Daily Wager.
The respondent raised industrial dispute regarding termination
of his services in violation of provision of Section 25F of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (in short, the Act). The reference
was answered in favour of the workman on 07.12.2006. The writ
petition against the said award was dismissed on 13.02.2018. The
workman was reinstated during the pendency of the writ petition
before the High Court but after the decision of the writ petition,
LL 2021 SC
575
Page 2 of 3
WWW.LIVELAW.IN
2
the services of the workman were terminated on 03.10.2019. Such
termination ofPage 1 / matter
order is subject 3 of challenge before the High
Court in Writ-A No.8862/2021.
TAGS #JUSTICE V. RAMASUBRAMANIAN #JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA SUPREME COURT
SUMMONING OFFICERS
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FCRA Amendments Aim To Prevent Foreign

Powers Interfering With Internal Polity,
Diversion Of Funds By NGO : Centre Tells
Supreme Court
LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK 22 Oct 2021 2:34 PM
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Defending the Foreign Contribution Regulation(Amendment) Act 2020, the Central
Government has said that the changes in the law were necessary to prevent
malpractices and diversion of funds by NGOs.
The Centre said that the amendments were necessary in view of the fact that some
foreign powers and foreign state and non-state actors continue to take up activities
that amount to interference in the internal polity of the country with ulterior designs.
The restrictions on transfer aim to prevent and counter such acts of ulterior motives.
Therefore, for effective monitoring and for ensuring the accountability of the recipient
association, the transfer of foreign contribution has been prohibited.
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The Centre further stated that the NGOs are expected to grow on the strength of their
own genuine work undertaken for fulfilling specific needs of society. While stating that
it recognizes the role of non-profit organizations and voluntary organizations in the
national development, the Centre said that "Genuine NGOs need not shy away from
any regulatory compliance mandated under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act,
2010".
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In a counter-affidavit filed in response to petitions challenging the constitutional
validity of the FCRA amendments, the Centre stated that there is "no fundamental
right to receive unbridled foreign contribution" and hence the petitions filed under
Article 32 of the Constitution were not maintainable.
The challenge is primarily to the following amendments :
• Amendment to Section 7, which forbids a recipient of foreign contribution

from transferring the same to any other entity.
• Amendment to Section 8(1)(b), which reduces the limit of usage of foreign

contribution for administrative expenses from 50% to 20%.
• Amendment to proviso to Section 11(2), which states that the Centre can
direct an organization to not utilize foreign contributions pending an inquiry on
suspected violations.
• Newly added Section 12 & 17 which state that the foreign contributions must
be deposited in the FCRA account created in the specified branch of the
scheduled bank, which was later notified as the New Delhi Branch of the State
Bank of India.
• Newly added Section 12A which empowers Centre to obtain Aaadhaar

numbers of the key functionaries of organization for approval.
Advertisement
Changes brought after noting that NGOs were routing foreign contributions
As regards the amendment to Section 7, the Centre said that it was brought after
noting that the NGOs were routing foreign contributions to other entities. The Centre
pointed out that the approval to receive foreign contribution is granted for a specified
purpose. However, if the diversion of funds are allowed, it will be difficult to monitor
the ultimate purpose for which the funds were utilized.
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"...the provision of transfer under erstwhile section 7 allowed even the transferee to
further transfer it to another association and that transferee could transfer it even
further. This would potentially allow endless chain of transfers and create a layered
trail of money, thus making it difficult to trace the flow & utilization of foreign
contribution. This creates serious vulnerability for misuse and diversion of foreign
contribution", the affidavit filed by Sumant Singh, Joint Secretary(Foreigners), the
Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
On reduction of limit for administrative expenses
The Centre further stated that he potential of successive multiple chain of transfer not
only creates a layered trail of money but also leads to substantive portion of foreign
contribution being utilised as administrative expenditure as each recipient could
potentially claim its own allowance for administrative expenditure that was permitted
upto fifty per cent of total foreign contribution received. It has now been reduced to
twenty per cent of the total foreign contribution received.
"The unamended provisions obviously leave much lesser amount of resources for the
core activities of the NGO for the direct benefit of society as envisaged under the Act,
in case multiple transfers are allowed as each transfer would entail additional 20%
administrative expenditure", read the affidavit.
Imperative to counter foreign powers interfering with internal polity
Highlighting that the FCRA was a "sovereignty and integrity legislation", the Centre said
that the overriding purpose was to ensure that foreign money does not dominate
public lifeas well as political and social discourse in India.
"This becomes even more imperative in view of the fact that some foreign powers and
foreign state and non-state actors continue to take up activities that amount to
interference in the internal polity of the country with ulterior designs. The restrictions
on transfer aim to prevent and counter such acts of ulterior motives. Therefore, for
effective monitoring and for ensuring the accountability of the recipient association,
the transfer of foreign contribution has been prohibited. It is expected that NGOs
would grow on the strength of their own genuine work undertaken for fulfilling specific
needs of society", the affidavit stated.
On the requirement to open FCRA account in specified branch
The Centre said that this requirement was introduced due to the difficulties
experienced in monitoring of inflow and outflow of foreign contribution when the
accounts of various NGOs were spread in different banks across the country.
"As per the erstwhile section 17 of the Act, all these NGOs could receive foreign
contribution in an exclusive bank account of their choice in any bank in India. As these
FCRA accounts were opened in hundreds of branches spread across the country,
massive difficulty was being experienced in monitoring of inflow & outflow of foreign
contribution from these accounts and also during audit process," the affidavit stated.
To obviate the difficulties of NGOs in complying with this requirement, the Centre said
that it has put in a place to ensure that the accounts can be opened without needing
to physically visit Delhi.
It was pointed out that nearly 19,000 FCRA accounts have been opened out of the
close to 22,600 associations registered under FCRA. The Centre also said that the
requirement of obtaining Aadhaar number will help in proper identification of the
beneficiaries.
The Centre also said that it is facilitating organizations to have smooth transition to
the new FCRA regime and has given extension to the deadlines for compliance.
The affidavit has been filed in the cases Noel Harper and Ors v. Union of India,and
Jeevan Jyothi Charitable Trust and others v. Union of India, which challenge the FCRA
amendments.
Click here to read/download the affidavit
TAGS FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION REGULATION ACT (FCRA)
FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS REGULATION (AMENDMENT) ACT 2020
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10/22/21, 3:18 PM Supreme Court Again Deprecates Practice Of Summoning Public Officers Unnecessarily To Court

TOP STORIES NEWS UPDATES COLUMNS INTERVIEWS FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL 

Supreme Court Again Deprecates Practice Of

unnecessarily to the court.

challenged these orders before the Apex Court.

Internal Polity, Diversion Of Funds By NGO : Centre Tells Supreme Court

Also Read - Filling Up Of Consumer Commission Vacancies Must Not Be Impeded

By Bombay HC Judgment Quashing Consumer Protection Rules : Supreme Court

practice of the Officers being summoned to the Court.

should not be called to court unnecessarily. Summoning of officers frequently is not

Case no. and Date: CA 6316 OF 2021 | 8 October 2021

Coram: Justices Hemant Gupta and V. Ramasubramanian

Click here to Read/Download Order

CIVIL APPEAL NO.6316 OF

TAGS #JUSTICE V. RAMASUBRAMANIAN #JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA SUPREME COURT

0 Comments Sort by Newest

Facebook Comments Plugin

FCRA Amendments Aim To Prevent Foreign

Defending the Foreign Contribution Regulation(Amendment) Act 2020, the Central

malpractices and diversion of funds by NGOs.

association, the transfer of foreign contribution has been prohibited.

it recognizes the role of non-profit organizations and voluntary organizations in the

In a counter-affidavit filed in response to petitions challenging the constitutional

Article 32 of the Constitution were not maintainable.

The challenge is primarily to the following amendments :

• Amendment to Section 7, which forbids a recipient of foreign contribution

• Amendment to Section 8(1)(b), which reduces the limit of usage of foreign

• Newly added Section 12A which empowers Centre to obtain Aaadhaar

the ultimate purpose for which the funds were utilized.

On reduction of limit for administrative expenses

contribution being utilised as administrative expenditure as each recipient could

twenty per cent of the total foreign contribution received.

Imperative to counter foreign powers interfering with internal polity

public lifeas well as political and social discourse in India.

On the requirement to open FCRA account in specified branch

experienced in monitoring of inflow and outflow of foreign contribution when the

to physically visit Delhi.

requirement of obtaining Aadhaar number will help in proper identification of the

Click here to read/download the affidavit

TAGS FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION REGULATION ACT (FCRA)

FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS REGULATION (AMENDMENT) ACT 2020

SIMILAR POSTS + VIEW MORE

West Bengal's Suit

NGO : Centre Tells Supreme Judgment Quashing Consumer

Court Protection Rules : Supreme Court

Supreme Court Issues Reservation In

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2 "Suspicion Cannot Substitute Evidence": Delhi Court Discharges Four Men

3 Consent, Rape, And Marriage: What Is India Doing?

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5 FCRA Amendments Aim To Prevent Foreign Powers Interfering With Internal

6 COVID-19: Kerala High Court Disposes Plea Challenging Proposal To Give

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