Mumbai Civil Society Group Condemns FIR Against People's Watch, Parent NGO

MRSD, a campaign of 40 civil society groups, condemned the FIR against the Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns.

Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy (MRSD), a campaign of over 40 civil society groups, on Wednesday, 12 January, condemned the CBI raids and First Information Report (FIR) lodged against the Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns and its programme, People’s Watch.

The FIR had been filed on 8 January, under under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010.

"The criminalization of the organisation and its programme in such manner by the government using the FCRA is yet another example of how the law has been used to stifle dissenting voices in Indian civil society and curb the important humanitarian work carried out by them."

Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

"CPSC and its programme People’s Watch has played an important role in the protection and promotion of human rights in the country since 1995. The organisation has been committed to human rights education and training and access for justice to victims of human rights violations," the press statement added.

The CPSC is part of coalitions advocating for Dalit rights, anti-torture legislation, and protection of human rights defenders, and has been working in the defence of civil liberties and democratic rights.

"The law has also been used to target organisations and activists that are vocal dissidents of oppressive government actions and policies, by launching inquiries and criminal cases against them for FCRA violations. All this has severely infringed upon the constitutional freedoms of the civil society organisations and created an atmosphere of fear and apprehension."

MRSD

What Is the Case?

The FIR, which is based on a 2014 complaint filed by the then director of the foreigners division (FCRA wing) in the Ministry of Home Affairs AK Sinha, alleges misuse of foreign funding by the organisation.

"The filing of the instant FIR raises several questions. Firstly, the FIR has been filed in respect of allegations of FCRA violations that were subject of show cause notices issued to CPSC in the years 2012 and 2013 i.e. a decade back," as per the MRSD.

"Secondly, the show cause notices were responded to and challenged before the Delhi High Court by CPSC in 2014 and the court permitted CPSC to operate its FCRA account. On account of no action being taken by the authorities pursuant to the notices, the writ petition was disposed off as infructuous. Thirdly, the FCRA license of CPSC was subsequently not renewed in October 2016 and accordingly a Writ Petition was filed by CPSC against the same, which is pending before the Delhi High Court."

Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

The MRSD has called upon the government to immediately and unconditionally withdraw the FIR filed against the CPSC and its programme, People’s Watch.

The move comes at a time when the Ministry of Home Affairs removed nearly 6,000 organisations, including Oxfam India, from the list of registered organisations under the FCRA from 1 January.