HC notice to Center on cancellation of FCRA registration of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation
New Delhi (IANS) | The Delhi High Court has sent notice to the Central Government on the petitions filed by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. In these petitions, both the organizations have challenged the cancellation of their Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration by the government.
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi heads both these non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
RGF’s trustees include former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Union Ministers P. Chidambaram, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
Justice Jyoti Singh issued the notice expressing dissatisfaction that it took eight hearings just to issue the notice as the government had sought adjournment on at least four occasions.
This is a regular first appeal (RFA), remarked the bench. It cannot be dismissed immediately. Eight dates have already passed. We have to be a little practical.. eight dates just for this.
After this, the court fixed the next hearing on 23 August.
The matter initially came up before the court in January 2023, but was adjourned several times due to unavailability of the bench.
When the matter was finally taken up for hearing on February 3, the public prosecutor sought an adjournment saying that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta would appear in the matter.
RGF’s FCRA registration was canceled in October 2022 by the Union Home Ministry for allegedly violating the Foreign Funding Act.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Foundation’s FCRA license has been canceled due to violation of foreign funding norms. The Ministry of Home Affairs had also constituted a committee in 2020 to investigate this. This decision has been taken on the basis of the report of the same inquiry committee.
According to sources, RGF came under the scanner in July 2020. Subsequently, the MHA constituted an inter-ministerial committee headed by an officer of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate NGOs including RGF linked to the Gandhi family. The foundation was accused of suspected FCRA violations and fudging of income tax returns.
RGF was established in 1991. For many years, the foundation worked on important issues such as health, science and technology, women, children and education.
–IANS
