Order barring Greenpeace from receiving foreign remittance will continue: HC
Chennai: The Madras High court on Wednesday made it clear that the order barring environmental NGO Greenpeace India Society from receiving foreign remittance would continue.
Greenpeace India Society had challenged the September 2 order of the Union Home Ministry cancelling its license under FCRA (Foreign Contribution (Regulations) Act, 2010. On September 16, Justice M M Sundresh had stayed the licence cancellation order by the foreigners division of the Ministry and issued a notice to it, returnable in eight weeks.
When the matter came up on October 1, the judge had clarified that the account of the petitioner (Greenpeace) on domestic contribution alone shall not be frozen and that they shall not receive any foreign remittance until further orders.
Additional Solicitor General G Rajagopalan had made a mention that day about the case and submitted that any appeal on the order passed by MHA under Section 14 of FCRA would arise by way of civil miscellaneous appeal. The judge had accepted the technical objection and directed the registry to convert the writ petition into a civil miscellaneous appeal.
When the matter came up again today, Greenpeace informed the court that the conversion was yet to commence and the interim order passed by the Court would expire today, whereupon the judge extended the interim order till October 16.
The Judge said the case should be converted to a civil miscellaneous appeal within a week and posted before the appropriate judge.
"It is made clear that excepting this modification, the order dated October 1 shall hold good. The order means the bar on receiving foreign donations would continue."
"The account of the petitioner with respect to domestic contribution alone shall not be freezed. It is also made clear that the petitioner shall not receive any foreign remittance until further orders. If any expenditure has to be made, that has to be accounted for by giving appropriate particulars to the authorities."
Greenpeace India's Executive Director had challenged the cancellation, saying the Centre was taking recourse to the "draconian and unconstitutional" provisions of FCRA "after having failed in its earlier misadventures."
Greenpeace had already fought many rounds of litigations, including one where it won an order permitting the NGO to access its domestic funds, on the ground that domestic funds were beyond the scope of FCRA.
The recent order cancelling FCRA registration had been on nine grounds, including one, which says Greenpeace transferred foreign contributions worth Rs 8.05 lakh in 2010-11 to workers of Greenpeace Environment Trust in "violation" of FCRA rules. The NGO had contended that the charge was "wholly false" and that no such transfer was made in violation of the law.
The Centre had alleged that Greenpeace utilized more than 50 per cent of foreign contributions for 2011-12 and 2012-13 for administrative expenditure, prohibited by Sec 8(1)(b) of FCRA. The NGO had said this was also a false charge.
