New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court has ordered that Greenpeace be allowed to receive and access funds from abroad, sidestepping government restrictions on its funding that was viewed as a move to tighten control over activist organisations.
"According to me, there is no material on record to restrict the petitioner (Greenpeace India Society) from accessing the bank account with the IDBI bank in Chennai," Justice Rajiv Shakdher said, observing the "amount in fixed deposited in the bank be unblocked and transferred to the NGO's account".
Calling the ministry restrictions "unconstitutional" the court said inspection in the matter has been carried out by the ministry and they have produced no material against the NGO here and Greenpeace International. "So at least at this juncture it is not good enough to hold back Greenpeace India from using their account," it said.
The home ministry had frozen the funds of Greenpeace in June after an intelligence report accused activist groups of "stalling development projects" by protesting against power projects, mining and genetically modified food.
The court observed that NGOs were entitled to have their viewpoints and is their views were not in consonance with that of the government's, it does not mean they were acting against national interest.
"The court has deemed the government's action as unconstitutional and has upheld the legitimacy of the issues Greenpeace takes up in India," Samit Aich, Executive Director, Greenpeace India, said in a media release. "This is a vindication of our work and the role that credible NGOs play in support of India's development," he added.
Sources in the home ministry said the order did not completely quash the ministry restrictions. The court, they said, had not commented on the PRC - Prior Reference Category - status of Greenpeace, which means the non-profit has to seek the ministry's permission for every contribution.
Greenpeace India moved court after it failed to access funds from Netherlands-based Greenpeace International and the US-based Climate Works Foundation, two key overseas contributors. In September, the court said money should be transferred to the non-profit and should be placed in a fixed deposit.