Organizations involved in religious conversion to be denied FCRA registration: Madras HC

The High Court of Madras (Madurai) is of the view that any misrepresentation of particulars would amount to rejection of the application itself. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

A Division Bench of the Madras High Court (Madurai) said that religious organizations whose activities would not affect the secular fabric of the nation and social harmony are eligible for Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration. But organizations engaged in converting people of one religious faith to another will be denied FCRA registration.

The court was hearing a civil miscellaneous appeal filed by the Kanzeon Public Charitable Trust at Kodaikanal in Dindigul district. The appellant, a trust incorporated in 2021 and registered under section 12AB and 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961, applied for a certificate of registration under the provisions of the Foreign Contributions (Regulations) Act, 2010. The appellant’s application was refused. In view of this, an appeal was filed.

The appellant submitted that the trust had established a Zen meditation center at Kodaikanal and its activities could not be termed as religious. The Center, on its part, presented the government’s policy to control the inflow of foreign funds that can be used to carry out conversions and other activities that would harm the country’s secular fabric. In the given case, the author of the trust was an ordained Christian priest addressed as Rev. Fr. Ama Samy SJ.

A Division Bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi said, “One cannot forget the fact that Christianity is a messianic religion. Their theological and religious mission is to bring everyone into the fold of Jesus Christ. It is said that ‘a leopard does not change its spots’. Unlike Hinduism, which includes, Abrahamic religions believe that Jews and Abrahamic are inherently exclusive Muslim religions. and full revelation because it their holy books say about themselves”.

Rule 9 of the FCR Rules, 2011 states that the application must be in Form FC-3A. Form FC-3A requires the applicant to state the nature of the organization. “The appellant claims to subscribe to the Zen Buddhist philosophy. On the appellant’s own evidence, it is a religious organization. The authority correctly states that Zen Buddhism is a variant of the Mahayana school of Buddhism. Any school of Buddhism will fall under the broad umbrella of Buddhism. Zen cannot be an exception. Since the plaintiff’s application did not properly identify its nature as negative, the application was proper.

The judges said the appellant need not have been so shy. Section 12 of the FCRA only prohibits unregistered religious organizations from receiving foreign contributions. An organization with a particular religious agenda is entitled to apply to the Central Government for a certificate of registration under Sections 11 and 12 of the Act. “But one has to make a clean chest of everything. He cannot keep any card up his sleeve. This is not a game of hide and seek,” they added.

“A clear distinction must be made between a religious organization and a cultural or educational entity. Organizations primarily engaged in the systematic teaching of Vedanta, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Yoga, and related Indian knowledge systems through structured classes, residential courses, publications, research, and manuscript preservation cannot be classified as religious institutions. Indian knowledge systems would fall under the educational or cultural category.”

Zen philosophy is of Chinese origin. Therefore, organizations like the appellant trust cannot claim any right of registration under the FCRA. “We are a pluralistic nation. Unlike the US, we are not a melting pot but a salad bowl, a beautiful metaphor attributed to Justice Ruma Pal. This status quo would be upset if one religious group gained the upper hand,” the court said.

If foreign funds were freely let in to facilitate conversion activities, the nation’s sovereignty would be threatened. “We hasten to clarify that we are not accusing the appellant of having such an agenda. Section 12(4)(a)(ii) of the Act specifically refers to conversion from one religious faith to another. This provision applies to all religious organizations. A fundamentalist Hindu organization involved in Ghar Wapsi cannot be registered under the FCRA. The statutory regime that was introduced during the UPA rule is for subordinate objects (2010).

If the law requires honest disclosure of all details, any misrepresentation would result in rejection of the application itself. Although the complainant engages in religious programs, they were mistakenly considered non-religious. “Therefore, the respondent authority had to say ‘Illa Samy’ (No sir) to Reverend Fr Ama Samy (whose name literally translates as ‘Yes’), the court said.

It stated that an application for FCRA registration should properly disclose the nature of the applicant. Failure to do so will result in the application being rejected. Even if all the details are correct, the authority may reject the application. This is because there is no right to receive foreign contributions as such. It can be a privilege at best.

However, the office must classify the applicant correctly. Persons and organizations involved in the maintenance of the civilizational heritage of India must be classified as educational or cultural. If the applicant’s programs involve worship and rituals, they will fall under the category of religious, the court said and dismissed the appeal.

Published – 8 Oct 2026 06:52 IST