New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), The Hindu reported.
This registration had earlier been suspended in February 2023. The policy think-tank had said at the time that it is in complete compliance with all laws and was working with the authorities to have the license issue resolved.
However, on January 10, CPR learnt that its FCRA registration now stands cancelled. President of the organisation Yamini Aiyar told The Hindu that CPR is weighing its options on how it can seek justice.
In a statement released on Wednesday (January 17), Aiyar said, “The basis of this decision is incomprehensible and disproportionate, and some of the reasons given challenge the very basis of the functioning of a research institution. This includes the publication on our website of policy reports emanating from our research being equated with current affairs programming.”
“During the tenure of our suspension, we sought and obtained interim redress from the honourable Delhi High Court and will continue to seek recourse in all avenues possible. This cancellation comes after a decision to suspend the FCRA status in February 2023. These actions followed an Income Tax “survey” that took place in September 2022. The actions have had a debilitating impact on the institution’s ability to function by choking all sources of funding. This has undermined the institution’s ability to pursue its well established objective of producing high quality, globally recognised research on policy matters, which it has been recognised for over its 50 years’ existence. During this time the institution has been home to some of the country’s most distinguished academics, diplomats and policymakers,” it continues.
“CPR is a 50-year-old institution that has a proud legacy of deep contributions to India’s policy making ecosystem, and over the past five decades has been home to many distinguished faculty, researchers and members of the board. CPR firmly reiterates that it is in complete compliance with the law, and has been cooperating fully and exhaustively at every step of the process. We remain steadfast in our belief that this matter will be resolved in line with constitutional values and guarantees,” it concludes.
In September 2022, the Income Tax Department had carried out searches at CPR’s offices. Other NGOs, including Oxfam India, were also targeted. Since then, CPR said, it has responded to all the notices served to it.
In an order dated February 27, 2023, the MHA had alleged that CPR has been using its FCRA funds for purposes other than the educational programmes for which the licence was granted.
Academics and researchers from across the world had criticised the Union government’s actions against CPR. Calling CPR “one of India’s oldest and most esteemed policy research institutions”, scholars had said it has a “reputation for excellence that is second to none among international scholars”.
The Delhi high court had earlier stayed the I-T Department’s proceedings against CPR, and the Supreme Court had supported this stay. CPR had moved the Delhi high court of Delhi against the I-T department’s order, which sought to cancel its registration under Section 12A with retrospective effect, thereby taking away its tax exemption status. The hearings in the Delhi high court on the matter are ongoing.