Govt suspends CHRI's licence for violating FCRA rules on many grounds: MHA officials

NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act includes failure in submitting an annual return for 2018-2019 as well as the details of the project for which the NGO received foreign contribution.

New Delhi: Days after the Delhi High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) against suspension of its registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the organisation "failed to adhere rules mandated to be followed under FCRA on many grounds and violated it".

The rules violated by the CHRI include "failure in submitting an annual return for 2018-2019 as well as the details of the project for which the NGO received foreign contribution", the officials in the MHA told media requesting anonymity. The ground of suspension of CHRI's FCRA licence also includes violation as there were instances where "foreign contribution received in India by the NGO was spent for benefit of society outside Indian territory as well as providing consultation to an entity abroad and showing the professional fees earned for it, as foreign contribution in its annual return".

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 "consolidate the law to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto".

The MHA had suspended the FCRA licence of CHRI for a period of 180 days on June 7 last year and it was later extended on December 1 last year for another 180 days considering the violation done by the NGO.

The CHRI is an international non-governmental organisation working in the area of human rights. In 1987, several Commonwealth professional associations founded CHRI, since there was little focus on human rights within the association of 53 nations although the Commonwealth provided member countries the basis of a shared common legal system. CHRI has its office in New Delhi and its headquarter is based in London.

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed CHRI's writ petition against suspension of its registration under the FCRA, making it clear that the Act doesn't provide for any opportunity to be given to the FCRA certificate holder before the suspension of the certificate.

(ANI)