Denial of FCRA license to Missionaries of Charity challenged

A man eats breakfast distributed by the nuns of Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Saint Teresa, outside its headquarter beside a portrait of her in Kolkata, India, on December 28, 2021. (Source: AP)

A U.S.-incorporated organisation, Global Peace Initiative, and its founder, evangelist K.A. Paul, have approached the Supreme Court challenging the refusal of the government to renew the registration of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

The registration was not renewed purportedly on the basis of some “adverse inputs”, the writ petition said. “The cancellation of the license of a renowned charitable organisation like the Missionaries of Charity on vague grounds such as 'adverse inputs' will have a chilling effect on all other Non- Governmental Organisations,” it said.

The plea has also urged the court to quash the government's direction to not renew the registration of “close to 6,000 NGOs”.