Statement in solidarity and support of

Lawyers Collective, Ms Indira Jaising, and Mr Anand Grover

We are activists from women’s groups and civil society members, human rights activists many
of whom have, since the late 1970s, engaged with issues of justice, rights, and law reforms,
specifically those related with women, and other marginalised sections of society.

In this work we have actively collaborated and worked with Lawyers Collective, Ms Indira
Jaising, and Mr Anand Grover. We have witnessed their commitment and diligence to the cause
of justice and human rights, and stand in solidarity with them today when they are being
targeted.

We write this statement in horror at the way the Supreme Court has deemed it urgent to take
up a petition filed by some organisation “Lawyers Voice”, demanding that the Government of
India initiate criminal proceedings against them.

This said petition was filed only on May 6, 2019, and listed for May 8, 2019 before a bench
comprising of CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta. This is a petition where an NGO
“Lawyer's Voice” has approached the Supreme Court, asking it to order the government to
take criminal action against another NGO “lawyers Collective” and the two senior lawyers for
apparent violation of FCRA conditions. It does not clearly show the locus of the petitioner in
filing this petition, it does not show violation of any fundamental right which alone is an
acceptable reason to approach the Supreme Court directly, and it provides no documentary
evidence. This itself could be ground enough for dismissal of the petition as it is not
maintainable under Article 32.

And yet the bench issued notices against Lawyers Collective, Ms Indira Jaising and Mr Anand
Grover, despite the fact that the FCRA violation issue filed against them is still pending before
Bombay High Court which admitted Lawyer's Collective petition and granted limited stay. What
was so urgent about this petition that it had to be rushed through in a manner that many other
are not?

We fear that Ms Jaising is being victimised, since she took up the issue of procedure adopted in
relation to the allegations of sexual harassment against CJI Ranjan Gogoi by a former employee
of the Supreme Court. Being a women's rights activist, a senior member of the bar well versed
with cases of sexual harassment, and a concerned citizen, she had raised points of order
regarding the procedure used by the Court without commenting on the merits of the
allegations themselves. The problems with hearing of 20 th April and the subsequent process
used to handle the alleged complaint have been subsequently critiqued in the numerous
statements and opinions voiced by many civil society organisations as well as eminent legal
community leaders including sitting judges, retired judges, and learned senior counsels.

This frivolous complaint is the price Ms Indira Jaising and her organisation have to pay for
trying to uphold the dignity and repute of the Supreme Court and the chair of the Chief Justice.
This government in the last five years has targeted organisations and individuals who have
raised their voice against the anti-people actions and human rights violations of the State. So
far the State has used its political and State power to do this. It has also used its immense
financial and corporate power to spread malignant untruths through the media.

We are proponents of independence of the judiciary and understand and respect that
completely. However, at this moment those that have been entrusted these august institutions
are seeming to repeatedly violate the faith that we have reposed in them. This needs to be
checked before we reach a point of no return.

We demand

 Dismiss the petition with compensatory cost.

 An immediate halt to such harassment of individuals doing their duty by law.
 An examination of the registry to see how this matter came up with such urgency.
 An investigation into the funding sources and background of the petitioner
organisation.

Endorsed by:
1. Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai 35. Anjali Bharadwaj, Satark Nagrik Sangathan, New Delhi
2. LABIA – A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai 36. Anjali Rawat, Delhi
3. People's Union for Civil Liberties, Maharashtra 37. Anjuman Ara Begum, Guwahati
4. Saheli Women's Resource Centre, New Delhi 38. Annie Raja, NFIW, New Delhi
5. Bebaak Collective 39. Anoushka Soni, Bangalore
6. Indian Christian Women's Movement 40. Anthony D'souza, Individual PLHA , Mumbai
7. Women for Article 14 41. Antony Kollannur, Kerala
8. Aarthi Pai, Lawyer, Bangalore 42. Anubha Rastogi, Lawyer, Mumbai
9. Aatmin, Lawyer, Mumbai 43. Anuja Gupta, New Delhi
10. Aatreyeee Sen, Women for Article 14 44. Anuradha Kapoor, Kolkata
11. Abdul Raheem , Nchro, Bangalore 45. Anuradha Pati
12. Abha Bhaiya 46. Apoorvanand, Scholar and writer, New Delhi
13. Abhas Gupta, Allahabad 47. Arantxa, Hyderabad
14. Abhiti Gupta, New Delhi 48. Archee Roy, Sappho for Equality , Kolkata
15. Abir, Kolkata 49. Arpita Jaya, Quill Foundation, Delhi
16. Aditi Joshi, LABIA - A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai 50. Aruna Burte, Pune
17. Adsa Fatima, New Delhi 51. Aruna Roy, MKSS, Rajasthan
18. Ajita, Dalit Feminist, WSS, New Delhi 52. Arundhati Dhuru, NAPM, Lucknow U. P
19. Akansha Singh, Delhi 53. Aryaman Jagdhari, NUJS, New Delhi
20. Akhil Chaudhary, Advocate, PUCL, Jaipur 54. Aryan Somaiya, Individual mental health Practioner and
21. Akshay Raundhal, Mumbai trans activist. , Mumbai
22. Ambika, Self-employed, New Delhi 55. Avinash, School for Democracy, New Delhi
23. Amit Kumar, National Alliance of People's Movements 56. Ayn, AynArsh, Mumbai
(NAPM), New Delhi 57. Aysha, Right to Food Campaign, New Delhi
24. Amita Pitre, Freelance Consultant , Mumbai 58. Bela Rajagopalan, Graphic Designer, Bangalore
25. Amitranjan Basu 59. Bhagirath Khuman, Nagpur
26. Ammu Abraham , Mumbai 60. Bharat , Vishakha, Rajasthan
27. Amrita De, Social Activist, Mumbai 61. Bhasha Singh, 55 C, pocket 4 mayur vihar, phase1, Delhi
28. Amrita Johari, Satark Nagrik Sangathan, New Delhi 62. Bhushan Kulkarni, Individual, Mumbai
29. Anand Zacharia, Vellore 63. Bijaya Chanda, Advocate, Alipore Court, Kolkata
30. Anant Phadke, Pune 64. Bindhulakshmi, Mumbai
31. Ananya Basu, New Delhi 65. Bindu Doddahatti, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore
32. Angbin Yasmin, New Delhi 66. Bittu Karthik, WSS; Telangana Hijra Intersex Trans Samiti
33. Anil Mishra, Academic and Activist, New Delhi 67. Bondita Acharya , WinG-Assam, Jorhat
34. Anita Pagare, Sangini Mahila Jagruti Mandal. 68. Brinelle D'Souza, TISS , Mumbai
69. Carol Geeta , Ajmer 128. Kabi , FAOW. PUCL-Mah, Bombay
70. Catherine Hoskyns, Coventry University, UK 129. Kalpana Kannabiran, Council for Social Development,
71. Charuvi Lokare, Mumbai Hyderabad
72. Chayanika Shah, Queer Feminist Activist and Researcher, 130. Kalyani Menon-Sen, Feminist Learning Partnerships,
Mumbai Gurgaon
73. Chhaya Datar, Retired Professor, TISS, Mumbai 131. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Human rights activist, Mumbai
74. Chitra Sinha, Centre for Gender Research, Uppsala 132. Kamini Tankha, Individual , New Delhi
Univerity, Sweden 133. Kaushik Gupta, Advocate, Kolkata
75. Christy (Christopher Nag), TISS Queer Collective, Mumbai, 134. Kavita Krishnan , AIPWA
Mumbai 135. Kavita Srivastava, PUCL, Jaipur
76. Dan Rebello, thane 136. Kavitha Kuruganti, Concerned Citizen, Bangalore
77. Debika, Kolkata 137. Kirity Roy , MASUM, India
78. Debjyoti Ghosh, Varta Gender and Sexuality Trust, Calcutta 138. Kochurani Abraham, Kerala
79. Deepa V. , New Delhi 139. Koninika , Individual, Mumbai
80. Denzil, Mumbai 140. Koninika Ray , National Federation of Indian Women , Delhi
81. Deshdeep Dhankhar, Delhi University, Delhi 141. Koyel, Sappho for Equality, Kolkata
82. Dilip Kumar Hota, Pune.Maharastra 142. Kritika, Student, GLC, Mumbai
83. Dimple Oberoi Vahali 143. Kritisha Jain , #IWillGoOut Collective , Nagpur
84. Divya Srinivasan, New Delhi 144. Kushal Nandwani, Chambers of Indira Jaising , Delhi
85. Divya Vaishnava , BUD Foundation. District School Safety 145. Kusum sehgal, New Delhi
Committee, Gurugram, Gurugram 146. Lara Jesani, PUCL, Maharashtra, Mumbai
86. Dr Amar Jesani, Mumbai 147. Lata Singh, JNU, New Delhi
87. Dr Anjali Mehta, Justice Seekers group, Dwarka 148. Laxmi Murthy, Bangalore
88. Dr Nidhi Mishra, Stree Mukti Sangathan, Allahabad 149. Leena Menghaney, Lawyer
89. Dr Prabir Kumar Chatterjee, Kolkata 150. M Q Aslam, LUcknow
90. Dr. Amita, Delhi 151. Madhur Bharatiya, Advocate, New Delhi
91. Dr. Kamaxi Bhate, Individual woman, Mumbai 152. Madhurima, Sappho For Equality, Kolkata
92. Durang, EQUATIONS, Bangalore 153. Malini Ghose, New Delhi
93. Dushyant, NewsCentral24x7, Delhi 154. Mallika Virdi, Munsiari, Uttarakhand
94. Esthappen S, Individual , New Delhi 155. Mangla Verma, Advocate, New Delhi
95. Farhana , Delhi 156. Manisha Gupte, Health and Women's Rights Activist, Pune
96. Forum Sanghvi, Individual, Mumbai 157. Manjusha, Self, New Delhi
97. Freny Manecksha, Thane 158. Manshi Asher, Kangra Citizens Rights Group, Himachal
98. Gabriele Dietrich, Madurai Pradesh
99. Gargi Mishra, New Delhi 159. Mary E John, New Delhi
100. Gargie Mangulkar, Pune 160. Masooma Ranalvi, WeSpeakOut, New Delhi
101. Gaurika Kumar, Ashoka University, Sonepat Haryana 161. Maya Nair, New Delhi
102. Gayatri , Delhi 162. Maya Sharma, Vadidara
103. Geeta Seshu, Free Speech Collective, Mumbai 163. Meena Gopal, FAOW, Mumbai
104. Gilbert Rodrigo, GUIDE, Chengalpattu 164. Meena Saraswathi Seshu, Sangli
105. Ginny Shrivastava 165. Meera Sanghamitra, National Alliance of People's
106. Gopika Bashi, Bangalore Movements, Hyderabad
107. Govind Kelkar, New Delhi 166. Megha Sheth, Mumbai
108. Harish Iyer , The Jimmy Foundation , Bombay 167. Minakshi Singh, National federation for Christian Women,
109. Harshit Agrawal, Aligarh Delhi
110. Harshit Rai, New Delhi 168. Mini Mathew , Mumbai - Goa
111. Hasina khan, Bebaak collective, Mumbai 169. Mitra Mukherjee-Parikh, Mumbai
112. Henri Tiphagne, Peoples Watch, Madurai 170. Mohammad Shahzad Alam, Noida
113. Himanshi Matta , Delhi 171. Mohan Rao, Former Professor, JNU
114. Huma Ghosh 172. Mona Mishra , Delhi
115. Ibad Mushtaq, Lawyer, New Delhi 173. Monica Sakhrani, Mumbai
116. Indu Prakash Singh, Forum Against Corruption & Threats, 174. Mridul, LABIA - A Queer Feminist LBT Collective, Mumbai
New Delhi 175. Mubashira Zaidi, Delhi
117. Jagdish Patel, Gujarat 176. Najmussahar Asadi, Thane.Maharashtra
118. Jayanth BJ , NUJS, Kolkata 177. Nalini Nayak , New Delhi
119. Jayati Ghosh, New Delhi 178. Nandini Nayak, New Delhi
120. Jeevika, Lawyer, Delhi 179. Nandita Gandhi, Mumbai
121. Jeyaraman, Madurai 180. Nandita Narain, St Stephen' s College, Delhi University,
122. Jharna Pathak, Ahmedabad Delhi
123. Jhelum Roy, Kolkata 181. Nandita shah, Mumbai
124. John Dayal, Activist, New Delhi 182. Narendra Gupta, Rajasthan
125. Jyotishka Guha , WBNUJS, Kolkata 183. Nawasha Mishra, Delhi
126. Jyotsna singh, Health Writer, New Delhi 184. Nawaz Heggere, Chitradurga
127. K B Garg, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur 185. Nehmat, Advocate, New Delhi
186. Nikhil Singh , The West Bengal national university of 244. Roshni Chattopadhyay, Research Scholar, TISS , Mumbai
Juridical Sciences , Kolkata 245. Rumi Harish, Aneka, Bangalore
187. Nisha Biswas, WSS, Kolkata 246. S Nabi, CAG, U.K
188. Nishi, Delhi 247. S. Srinivasan, Vadodara, Gujarat
189. Niti Saxena, LUcknow 248. S. Balamurugan , PUCL , Coimbatore
190. Nitu Sanadhya, Advocate, Mumbai 249. S.Jeevan Kumar, Human Rights Forum, Hyderabad,
191. Noella De Souza Telangana State
192. P. Rajan, Chennai 250. S.Q.Masood, Social Activist, Hyderabad
193. Padma Deosthali, Mumbai 251. Saadhy pawar, Umang LBT Group, Mumbai
194. Padmaja Shaw, None, Hyderabad 252. Sabah Khan, A citizen, Mumbai
195. Padmini Swaminathan 253. Sadaf Vidha , Navi mumbai
196. Pallav Patankar, Individual , Mumbai 254. Sadhna Arya, New Delhi
197. Pallavi Dhote, Koljata 255. Sahil Patel, Vashi
198. Pamela Philipose, Journalist, New Delhi 256. Sajjad Hassan, Citizens Against Hate, Delhi
199. Parul, Jamia millia islamia, New Delhi 257. Salonie Hiriyur Muralidhara, SEWA, Ahmedabad
200. Pearl Daruwala , The Humsafar Trust, Mumbai 258. Sam Fernandes, Mumbai
201. Percy Kutar, None, Mumbai 259. Sanchari, Visakhapatnam
202. Piyushee Amrite, Pioneers classes, Nasik 260. Sancharini Mitra, Kolkata
203. Poornima Mandpe, Akshara centre, Mumbai 261. Sandeep Pandey, Lok Rajniti Manch, Lucknow
204. Pouruchisti Wadia, Individual, Mumbai 262. Sandhya Gautam, National Alliance for Maternal Health
205. Poushali Basak , FAOW, Mumbai and Human Rights (NAMHHR), New Delhi
206. Prabha Nagaraja, New Delhi 263. Sandhya Gokhale, Forum Against Oppression of Women,
207. Prachi, HST, Mumbai Mumbai
208. Pragati Kulkarni, Mumbai 264. Sangeeta Chatterjee, FAOW
209. Pragnya Joshi, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Rajasthan, 265. Sangeeta Menon, Mumbai
Udaipur 266. Sangeeta Rege, Mumbai
210. Prasanna S, Advocate, Delhi 267. Sanjay Dabhade, Pune
211. Pratibha Sivasubramanian, Advocate 268. Sanjay Thakur, Mumbai
212. Praveer Peter, Ranchi 269. Santosh Mahindrakar, Registered Nurse, New Delhi
213. Preet Sharma , Nair hospital , Andheri, Mumbai 270. Santosh Sharma , New Delhi
214. Prerna Mishra, ANANDI, Gujarat 271. SapAna Mhatre, Individual, Mumbai
215. Pritha, Mumbai 272. Sarahbeth Nimmi George, New Delhi
216. Prof Vibhuti Patel, Mumbai 273. Sarojini N., New Delhi
217. PT George, Intercultural Resources, New Delhi 274. Saswati Ghosh, WSS/Maitree, Kolkata
218. Pulin B Nayak , Retired Professor, New Delhi 275. Saswati Ghosh, Academic and Activist, Kolkata
219. Purnima , Delhi 276. Satnam Kaur, New Delhi
220. R. Srivatsan, Hyderabad 277. Satnam Singh
221. Radha Holla, Bihar 278. Satya Oza, Ahmedabad
222. Radhika Desai, Hyderabad 279. Saumya Malhotra, Democracy Collective , Delhi NCR
223. Radhika M Chakraborty, Delhi 280. Saurabh , Individual, Thane
224. Rajubha Vaghela, Gram Vikas Seva Charitable Trust, Akoli 281. Shals Mahajan , Writer , Mumbai
thakorvas teh.Kankrej dist.Banaskantha Gujarat pin.385550 282. Shantha Sinha, Hyderabad
225. Rakhi Sehgal, Activist, New Delhi 283. Sharfuddin Ahmad , SDPI, C-4,Hazrat Nizamuddin, West
226. Ranjan De, New Delhi Delhi-13
227. Ranjana Padhi, Women against Sexual Violence and State 284. Sheba Chhachhi, New Delhi
Repression, Bhubaneswar 285. Sheba George, Ahmedabad
228. Ranjita Biswas, Psychiatrist and queer feminist researcher 286. Sheela Prasad, Hyderabad
activist, Kolkata 287. Sherein Bansal, I will go out, Chandigarh
229. Ravi Duggal, Mumbai 288. Shirin Rai, UK
230. Renu Khanna, Vadodara, Gujarat 289. Shona, Teach For India, Mumbai
231. Rishikesh Yeolekar, Pune 290. Shraddha Chickerur, Hyderabad
232. Ritambhara Mehta, New Delhi 291. Shraddha Chigateri, Bangalore
233. Ritu Dewan, Mumbai 292. Shraddha Dedhia , Mumbai
234. Ritu Menon, New Delhi 293. Shreshtha Das, Human Rights Activist, Delhi
235. Rituparna Borah, New Delhi 294. Shruti Chakravarty , FAOW, Bombay
236. Rohini Hensman, Writer and Researcher, Mumbai 295. Shruti Kulkarni, Jack in the Box Worldwide, Wadala
237. Rohini Kandhari, New Delhi 296. Shubhada Deshmukh , Kurkheda District Gadchiroli
238. ROHIT MANJREKAR, Tech mahindra, Mumbai 297. Shubhangi Singh, Association for Advocacy and Legal
239. Rohit Prajapati, Environment Activist, Vadodara, Gujarat Initiatives (AALI), Lucknow
240. Roma Dey, Gurgaon 298. Shwetambera, Bangalore
241. Roop Rekha Verma, Saajhi Duniya, Lucknow 299. Siddhant, PDYF, Delhi
242. Rosamma Thomas 300. Siddhant More, Mumbai
243. Roshmi Goswami, Feminist, Human Rights Defender, 301. Single Girl Child Parents Association., 3 C POCKET A
Shillong 302. Smriti Nevatia , Mumbai
303. Sneha Makkad, New Delhi
304. Soma KP, independent researcher, New Delhi
305. Somaya Gupta, Student Activist , New Delhi
306. Sonia Mishra , Student PDPU , Ahmedabad
307. Sopan Muller , Andheri West. Mumbai.
308. Sowmya T Gupta , Tweet foundation , Delhi
309. Srinivas Kodali, Hyderabad
310. Stuti , Mumbai
311. Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative, Delhi
312. Sudha N, Independent, Bangalore
313. Sudha Ramalingam, Advocate, Chennai
314. Sudhanshu Latad, Pune
315. Suhas Kolhelkar
316. Suhas Paranjape, Thane
317. Sumi Krishna, Bangalore
318. Sundari Ravindran , Independent Researcher, Trivandrum
319. Suneeta Dhar, Activist, New Delhi
320. Sunetra Deshpande , Vox Populi , Ahmedabad
321. Sunita Sheel, Vidhayak Trust, Pune
322. Supriya Jan, CORO India, Mumbai
323. Suroor Mander, Advocate, Delhi
324. Susheela Singh, New Delhi
325. Svati Joshi , Ahmedabad
326. Swagata Raha, Legal Researcher, Bangalore
327. Swatija, FAOW, Thane
328. Sweta Dash, Student, Ambedkar University, Delhi
329. T Limanochet Jamir, Dimapur
330. Tanushree Gangopadhyay, Media, Gujarat
331. Tanvi, Mumbai
332. Tanvi Kanchan, Mumbai / London
333. Tara, The Feminist Collective , Rai, Haryana
334. Tarangini Sriraman
335. Tazeen Fatima, Saajhi Duniya, Lucknow
336. Tejaswini, Hyderabad for Feminism, Hyderabad
337. Uday rote, Individual , Mumbai
338. Uma Chakravarti, New Delhi
339. Urmila Salunkhe, Mumbai
340. Urvashi Butalia, New Delhi
341. Usha Varma, LC, Mumbai
342. Usman Jawed, Centre for Equity Studies, Delhi
343. Uttanshi agarwal, School of Law, Christ University,
Bengaluru
344. Vahida Nainar, Mumbai
345. Vandana Mahajan
346. Vandana Prasad, Community Pediatrician and Public
Health Professional
347. Vandita Morarka , One Future Collective, Mumbai, India
348. Vanita Nayak Muherjee, Gurgaon
349. Varghese Theckanath s.g., Montfort Social Institute,
Hyderabad
350. Varsha Bhargavi, Where Are The Women?, Hyderabad
351. Vasudha Mohanka
352. Vasudha Nagaraj, Advocate, Hyderabad
353. Vasudha Verma, WB NUJS, Delhi
354. Veena Gowda, Lawyer, Mumbai
355. Veena Johari, Mumbai
356. Veena Shatrugna, Independent Researcher, Bengaluru
357. Vidhya, Research Scholar, New Delhi
358. Vidya Dinker, INSAF, Mangalore
359. Vinay Kulkarni, Pune
360. Vincent , Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation, Rome
361. Vineeta Bal, Pune
362. Warisha Farasat, Advocate, Delhi
363. Yasmeen, Aawaaz-e-niswaan , Mumbai
364. Yogesh Jain, Ganiyari
365. Yogesh Laxman Manjula, Lokayat, Pune