India News | HC reverses cancellation of registration of Wildlife Study Centre under FCRA

Bengaluru, Jun 29 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court has set aside the orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which led to cancellation of registration of the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

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Founded by scientist K Ullas Karanth, Bengaluru-based CWS faced a ‘suspension’ of its registration under FCRA on March 5, 2021.

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This suspension was extended and then transformed into cancellation of registration on September 4, 2023, following a show cause notice issued by the MHA on December 3, 2021.

CWS challenged the cancellation, arguing that it lacked justification and that Karanth, son of Jnanpith awardee late K Shivaram Karanth, was not given personal hearing as contemplated under Section 14(2) of the FCRA.

The MHA countered by saying personal hearings were not necessary before canceling a registration.

Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court noted that while Section 14(2) allows cancellation of registration, Section 14(3) bars the entity from re-registering for three years.

“The words described in the law ‘reasonable opportunity to be heard’ cannot be limited to the issuance of a notice of show of cause, but a personal hearing on the particular facts of the case due to the particularity of the subsection (3) of Section 14 of the Act must have been granted to the petitioner,” the judge said in a recent order.

The court observed that the failure to allow the applicant to be heard in person rendered the order untenable and that its untenability would lead to its setting aside.

“Let there be no confusion that there can always be a merger between the hearing and the personal hearing,” the judge said.

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