The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to rule on Greenpeace India's legal challenge to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decision to suspend its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license and block the group's international and national bank accounts.
The court issued notices to the MHA and several Indian banks, calling on them to respond to Greenpeace India's writ petition, which is to be heard on May 26.
"We believe we have a strong case. We're calling for the order to be quashed because of the arbitrary and unconstitutional way the MHA has acted. Freezing both our national and international bank accounts is beyond the scope of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act and the jurisdiction of the MHA," said Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich.
"Our national bank accounts contain donations from thousands of Indian citizens. Our staff and their families are facing an uncertain future, but are showing amazing passion and spirit," he added.
Greenpeace further claimed that the MHA's actions show evidence of 'bad faith' and are an attempt to silence the NGO.
"This is not about Greenpeace India alone. This is about the government trying to silence those who raise uncomfortable questions and shine a light on the destruction of India's environment and the
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violation of Indian laws to benefit a powerful few," said Aich.
"We ask the Home Minister to address the issues we raise directly, instead of using these heavy handed measures that undermine the democratic values of our country," he added.
According to a release by Greenpeace, the High Court has also called on three major Indian banks to respond to the petition, with the NGO claiming they did not have the right to freeze the accounts without a court order and their actions represent a breach of trust.
Earlier, Greenpeace had submitted a comprehensive rebuttal to allegations contained in the MHA 'show cause notice', and demanded the immediate unblocking of its domestic bank accounts.
The rebuttal document was delivered in person this morning by an official delegation from Greenpeace India.