Greenpeace India's Shutdown Put on Hold by Madras High Court

Chennai: A court on Friday temporarily suspended an order cancelling Greenpeace India's operating licence in the country, the group said, the latest twist in its ongoing battle with the central government.

Responding to a petition by Greenpeace, the Madras High Court halted the process to invalidate the environmental group's registration after authorities in Tamil Nadu cancelled its licence earlier this month.

Greenpeace lawyer Vineet Subramani said the judge had observed "prima facie, the government has not followed the principles of natural justice".

"He was satisfied with our arguments and granted an unconditional stay on the government order," Subramani told AFP. No confirmation was available from the court directly.

Greenpeace has alleged that the order cancelling its only licence in the country came from the home ministry, which has repeatedly declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

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"We were confident the courts would agree that Greenpeace is on sound legal footing and has done nothing wrong, notwithstanding the government's ridiculous allegations of fraud in this instance," Priya Pillai of Greenpeace India said in a statement.

The NGO, which is at loggerheads with the BJP-led government, has won a string of court cases this year.
The Centre in April suspended Greenpeace's foreign funding licence and froze its domestic bank accounts for alleged rule violations.

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Greenpeace said the move could force it to shut down -- but later succeeded in having the bank accounts unfrozen.

The group attributes the actions taken against it to its criticism of the government, which it accuses of causing environmental degradation by excessive use of coal power, deforestation and nuclear projects.

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In recent months, Greenpeace has accused Indian authorities of placing its campaigners on suspicious persons list and barring their exit and entry into the country.

One of the group's senior campaigners was offloaded from a flight to London, where she was scheduled to address British MPs.

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The government has cancelled the foreign funding licences of around 9,000 charities since a major crackdown began in April and placed the US-based Ford Foundation and Christian charity Caritas on a watch list.

Indian media have reported on a secret intelligence document that apparently warned delays to key development projects sought by Greenpeace and other groups could knock three percentage points off India's annual growth rate.

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