In a major relief to Greenpeace India, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed the NGO to operate two of its domestic bank accounts and liquidate its existing fixed deposits. It can receive fresh donations or contributions from within the country.
Additional Solicitor-General Sanjay Jain, representing the Home Affairs Ministry, reiterated his earlier statement that Greenpeace India had violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by merging its foreign donations with domestic ones.
He said the NGO had not revealed to the court that there was a statutory remedy available under which around 25 per cent of the non-utilised amount in the FCRA account could be used with government approval. The global NGO had applied for the benefit under this rule, but it did not reveal that to the court in its application.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher asked the government to decide on the application within four weeks.
Mr. Jain said the government was unaware that the NGO had fixed deposits, something that had been revealed only through the petition made in the court.
The judge said the source of the fixed deposits could be traced by the government during its probe. The court pulled up the banks for denying access to Greenpeace despite an earlier order allowing them to use the accounts. “Do you go by orders of the court or that of the government,” asked the judge.
