The Centre had refused to renew Oxfam’s FCRA registration in December 2021. The NGO filed a revision application against the order in January 2022. However, no decision was taken on the application for months after which the petitioner came to court.
In an order passed November 11, 2022 the High Court had ordered the Central government to decide the application within six weeks. The application was then rejected by the MHA through an order passed on December 1, 2022.
In its plea, filed through Advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, Oxfam has argued that by virtue of the dismissal of the petitioner’s application, the government has closed all doors for them to seek renewal of its FCRA registration, essentially amounting to depreciating their work in India.
In rejecting the application, the respondent (MHA) has turned a blind eye towards the colossal work done by the petitioner over the past many decades in the social sector, the plea stated.
“… outright rejection of the Petitioner’s renewal has not only impacted the Petitioner, but also adversely affected, and continues to affect on each day, multiple social projects running in 16 states, impacting 1akhs of people in the country, such as Flood relief, Covid-19 relief, Women Support Centres, providing nutritious meals to underprivileged children, capacity building and training workshops for multiple stakeholders, etc,” the plea argued.
Source: Barandbench
