SC notice to Centre on legalising foreign funding to political parties
New Delhi, July 2: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Central government's response on a plea challenging the amendments to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act which it said were introduced to bail out the BJP and Congress after a high court held them guilty of taking foreign funding.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud issued notice to the government on the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) plea seeking declaration that the amendments in FCRA 2010 by Section 236 of Finance Act, 2016 and by Section 217 of the Finance Act, 2018 are "void, illegal and unconstitutional".
The amendments to the FCRA, the petitioner contended, were introduced with retrospective effect to overturn a Delhi High Court order holding the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress guilty of accepting donations from overseas companies.
The plea against the Delhi High Court judgment was rejected by the top court, said the plea.
The amendments to the FCRA 1976, the PIL said, have "opened doors to unlimited political donations from foreign companies, thereby legitimizing financial contributions received from foreign sources".
Contending that the amendments were contrary to the principles of the separation of powers, it said that the amendment made in FCRA 2010 "vide the Finance Act 2016" was already under challenge before the top court and when matter is sub-judice, the Parliament by the Finance Act, 2018 has now made amendments with retrospective effect from 1976.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
