Foreign funding for AAP; HC to hear PIL on March 12

The Delhi High Court today fixed for hearing on March 12 a PIL seeking registration of a criminal case against Aam Aadmi Party and its founding members on the ground that the party allegedly received foreign funding in violation of various laws.
"The counter affidavit filed by respondent party (Aam Aadmi Party) is not on record due to some objection in the registry," a bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Jayant Nath said.
The court asked M L Sharma, who has filed the PIL, to file a rejoinder to AAP's reply which is yet to come on record.
AAP, in its reply, has said it did not flout any law in receiving foreign funds.

It said the party got donations worth Rs 30 crore from Indian citizens only, out which about Rs 8.5 crore came from NRIs.
"It is the only party whose all financial records and the names of each and every donor is on its website, open for public view," the affidavit, filed by AAP national secretary Pankaj Kumar Gupta, said and sought dismissal of the PIL.

Earlier, the court had issued notices to AAP and its founding members, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on the plea.
Besides Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan, petitioner advocate M L Sharma has made AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Shanti Bhushan as parties in his PIL.

The court had said the Centre should look "afresh" into the accounts of AAP to find out the source of money received by the party after its inception.
Sharma, in his plea, had cited some names, including that of Kejriwal, and sought that "a direction be issued to register a criminal case against the respondents (AAP members) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and to conduct day-to-day trial proceedings under court supervision in the interest of justice.