AAP leaders not providing info on party funding: Centre to HC

The Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi high court that AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have not provided the information sought by them on the funding received by the party.

“We have asked for certain details from them regarding bank accounts and other information vide our letter dated November 4, 2013. We had also sent another letter to them. But there is no answer," Additional Solicitor General Rajeeve Mehra, appearing for the Ministry of Home Affairs, told the court.

Meanwhile, the bench headed by justice Pradeep Nandrajog asked petitioner advocate M L Sharma to also implead AAP as one of the respondents in the PIL filed by him seeking lodging of a criminal case against founding members of the party, including Kejriwal, for allegedly receiving foreign funds in violation of law.

"AAP is a registered political party. Why you have not made them a party? File an amended memo of parties by next date of hearing i.e. February 5," the bench said.

Besides Kejriwal, the petitioner has made AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan as party in his PIL.

The high court had earlier asked the Centre to look into "afresh" the accounts of AAP to find out the source of money received by it after its inception.

The order had came after the Centre had filed a report in which it had said that an evaluation of the accounts of civil society of Team Anna was done in 2012 and a report was filed before another bench of the high court last year in a similar PIL filed by the petitioner earlier.

The Centre had earlier submitted before the court that the issue raised by the petitioner in his PIL has already been investigated and a report was prepared on the issues earlier by the government.

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."