Now Reading: Kerala HC sets aside denial of FCRA renewal for 2 NGOs
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Kerala HC sets aside denial of FCRA renewal for 2 NGOs
The Kerala High Court has set aside the Centre's refusal to renew the FCRA certificates of two NGOs, ruling that financial support for peaceful protests cannot be considered misuse of foreign funds…
The Story in Brief
The Kerala High Court has set aside the Centre's refusal to renew the FCRA certificates of two NGOs, ruling that financial support for peaceful protests cannot be considered misuse of foreign funds because the right to protest is constitutionally protected. The court noted that the Intelligence Bureau report contained no direct financial trail between the NGOs and the Vizhinjam protestors. The government had alleged that funds were diverted through other organisations, but the court found no material evidence to support this.
The court also criticised the government for not giving reasons for rejection, saying an order without reason is 'action born of whim'. It directed the authorities to pass fresh orders within three months. The two NGOs are Kerala Social Service Forum and Save A Family Plan India, both of which had received foreign funding for decades with a clean track record.
The Indian Opinion
The ruling punctures the lazy narrative that any foreign funding for protests is automatically anti-national. At the same time, it does not give a free pass: the court explicitly said there was no evidence of a financial trail. The test now is whether the government will produce concrete proof of misuse in its fresh order within three months, or fall back on the same vague suspicion.
Sources (3): timesnownews.com, thenewsminute.com, ndtv.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
