Kerala High Court Quashes FCRA Renewal Denial to NGOs Over Vizhinjam Protest Funding

KOCHI, August 13, 2026: The Kerala High Court has set aside a Union government decision refusing to renew the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of two non-governmental organisations over allegations that they provided financial support to protests against the Adani-led Vizhinjam port project.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, in an order passed on August 11, held that even if the Kerala Social Service Forum and Save a Family Plan India had extended financial assistance to protesters, such support could not automatically be treated as diversion of foreign contributions for an “undesirable purpose” or against the public interest.

FCRA registration is mandatory for non-profit organisations seeking to receive foreign contributions.

The two organisations had been registered to receive foreign funds since 1985. The Union government declined to renew their registrations after 2021, alleging that they had diverted foreign contributions to provide financial assistance to people protesting the Vizhinjam port project.

The organisations challenged the decision before the High Court.

The Vizhinjam project, estimated at Rs 7,500 crore and developed by the ports business of billionaire Gautam Adani, faced sustained opposition from local fisherfolk in 2022. Protesters alleged that the project would aggravate coastal erosion and threaten their livelihoods.

The agitation turned violent on November 26, 2022, after demonstrators prevented the Adani Group from restarting construction at the site, where work had remained suspended for four months. Construction later resumed following directions from the Kerala High Court.

In its latest ruling, the High Court rejected the contention that support extended to the protesters could by itself constitute a violation of the FCRA. The court said the government’s “distaste for protests or dissents” could not be used as a basis for treating the constitutionally protected right to protest as being against the public interest.

The court also criticised the government for failing to provide adequate reasons for rejecting the organisations’ applications for renewal of their FCRA registrations.

Providing reasons for such a decision was “essential” in a democratic country, the court observed.

The ruling effectively sets aside the government’s refusal to renew the FCRA registrations of the two organisations, holding that participation in or financial support for lawful protest cannot, without more, be characterised as an impermissible use of foreign contributions under the FCRA.

Courtesy: Scroll.in