NationalThursday, 8 October 2026·Hindu Tamil Thisai
Madurai Bench bars foreign funding for groups linked to religious conversion under FCRA
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court held that organisations involved in religious conversion activities should not be permitted to receive foreign funds under FCRA.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In October 2026, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ruled in a case involving the Kodaikanal-based Conscience Public Trust and the FCRA, after the Union Home Ministry had rejected its foreign-funding certificate request on 19 January 2025.
Key specifics
- The case was heard by Justices G.R. Swaminathan and M.D. Sumathi at the Madurai Bench.
- The trust had sought registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, commonly called FCRA.
- The Union Home Ministry’s order rejecting the application was dated 19.1.2025.
- The court noted that the trust’s website showed a meditation centre with a Buddha statue and a cross-like structure above it.
- The judgment cited the Supreme Court’s view that foreign donations are not a legal or absolute right and can affect the political environment.
Exam lens
Polity and governance question type: FCRA, foreign contribution control, judicial review, and secularism. TNPSC may ask which Act regulates foreign donations, which court delivered the ruling, and why the application was rejected.