The Madras High Court (Madurai) holds that any misrepresentation of details would entail rejection of the application itself. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
A Division Bench of the Madras High Court (Madurai) has said religious organisations, whose activities would not affect the nation’s secular fabric and social amity, are entitled to obtain Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration. But organisations engaged in converting people of one religious faith to another shall be denied FCRA registration.
The court was hearing the Civil Miscellaneous Appeal filed by Kanzeon Public Charitable Trust in Kodaikanal in Dindigul district. The appellant, a trust founded in 2021 and registered under Section 12AB and 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961, sought certificate of registration under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The appellant’s application was rejected. Challenging the same, the appeal was filed.
The appellant submitted the trust had established a Zen Meditation Centre at Kodaikanal and its activities cannot be labelled as religious. On its part, the Centre submitted the policy of the government is to check the inflow of foreign funds that may be deployed for carrying out conversion and other activities which would harm the secular fabric of the country. In the instant case, the author of the trust was an ordained Christian priest addressed as Rev. Fr. Ama Samy SJ.
A Division Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and M.D. Sumathi said, “One cannot forget the fact that Christianity is a messianic religion. Their theological and religious mission is to bring everyone within the fold of Jesus Christ. There is a saying ‘a leopard will not change its spots’. Unlike Hinduism which is inclusive, the Abrahamic religions are inherently exclusive. The devout Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that theirs is the one true and complete revelation because that is what their Holy books say of themselves”.
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