The Delhi High Court today ruled the Indian government
must unfreeze Greenpeace India funds received from abroad. In its ruling the
court noted that the action of the Ministry of Home Affairs in freezing
Greenpeace India funds is “arbitrarily illegal” and “unconstitutional”. It
observed that NGOs are entitled to have their viewpoint and merely because
their views are not in accordance with the Government’s views it does not mean
the NGO is acting to the detriment of the national interest.
The environmental NGO hailed the decision as a victory for democracy
and free speech and recognition of the vital role that NGOs play in a free society.
“This is a vindication of our work and the role that NGOs play in campaigning for sustainable development,” said Samit Aich, Executive Director, Greenpeace India.
In June 2014, the government barred Greenpeace from receiving funds from Greenpeace International and Climate Works Foundation, some 40% of its funding. The remaining 60% is raised from local supporters in India.
In the months since, the organisation has seen travel restrictions imposed on its personnel coming into and leaving India. In September 2014, UK citizen Ben Hargreaves was refused entry to India despite having valid papers. And Last week, on 11 January, Greenpeace India campaigner Priya Pillai was prevented from boarding her flight to London despite having the appropriate visa and no criminal convictions. She was on her way to address British parliamentarians about the legal and human rights violations in Mahan, where London-registered Essar Energy hopes to clear ancient forests to build an open-cast coal mine.
Besides Pillai, other activists working in Mahan have also been illegally arrested and harassed. The local community is protesting the threat to their forests and livelihoods posed by coal mining.
“The Court’s decision comes at a crucial time when sections of the government seem intent on harassing us and other environmental NGOs. We are glad the court ruled the government’s actions were unjust and had absolutely no basis in law. This is a strong signal from the judiciary that the government must cease its campaign of harassment against civil society,” said Aich.
