Madras High Court on FCRA: Organisations Engaged in Religious Conversion to Be Denied Foreign Funding Registration
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed an appeal by the Kanzeon Public Charitable Trust, a Kodaikanal-based trust running a Zen meditation centre. The Centre had refused to register it under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA).
A Division Bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice M.D. Sumathi heard the appeal under Section 31(2) of the FCRA (case: Kanzeon Public Charitable Trust v. Union of India, CMA(MD) No. 1057 of 2026).
The main reason for rejection: the trust described itself as non-religious, but by its own account it followed Zen Buddhist philosophy, which the court treated as a school within Buddhism. The court said an applicant must truthfully disclose its nature.
The court held that religious organisations whose work does not harm the nation's secular fabric and social harmony can get FCRA registration, but organisations engaged in converting people from one faith to another must be denied it. It relied on Section 12(4)(a)(ii) of the FCRA.
The court also said that receiving foreign contribution is a privilege, not a right, and that the authority must classify applicants correctly as educational, cultural or religious.
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA)
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 is the law that controls how people and organisations in India receive money or gifts from foreign sources. Any NGO, trust or society that wants foreign donations must first get registration or prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The aim is to make sure foreign money does not harm India's sovereignty, security, public interest or social harmony.
The Madras High Court read Section 12(4)(a)(ii) as a bar on registration for any organisation engaged in conversion, while allowing religious bodies that respect secularism to register. It also relied on Noel Harper to say that foreign contribution is a privilege the government may refuse.
Freedom of Religion: Articles 25 to 28 of the Constitution
India's Constitution gives every person the freedom to believe in any religion, to follow it, and to spread its ideas. This set of rights is found in Articles 25 to 28, inside Part III (Fundamental Rights). The freedom is wide but not absolute: the State can limit it for public order, morality and health, and can make laws on the non-religious side of religion and for social reform. Together, these articles are the main way India's secularism works in daily life.
The Madras High Court's ruling sits where Article 25 meets the FCRA. Because the Supreme Court has held that the right to propagate does not include a right to convert, the High Court said foreign funds can be denied to bodies engaged in conversion, while religious bodies that respect secularism and social harmony may still be registered.
- Court: Madurai Bench, Madras High Court; Division Bench of Justice G.R. Swaminathan and Justice M.D. Sumathi
- Case: Kanzeon Public Charitable Trust v. Union of India, CMA(MD) No. 1057 of 2026; appeal dismissed
- Trust: set up in 2021, Kodaikanal; registered under Sections 12AB and 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961
- Appeal route: Section 31(2), FCRA 2010; court held FCRA appeals should go to a Division Bench
- Provisions cited: FCRA Sections 11 and 12; Section 12(4)(a)(ii) (conversion bar)
- Precedent relied on: Noel Harper v. Union of India (2022): no vested right to receive foreign contribution
- Rev. Stainislaus v. State of MP (1977): no right to convert under Article 25
- FCRA 2020 amendment: administrative expense cap cut from 50% to 20%; SBI New Delhi Main Branch designated account