Madras High Court Holds Teaching Bhagavad Gita Not Sufficient To Treat Trust As ‘Religious’ Under FCRA

The Madras HC has held that teaching the Bhagavad Gita does not render a trust a religious organisation for the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, and cannot be a ground to deny FCRA registration.

The Court was hearing a plea by Arsha Vidya Parampara Trust, which teaches Vedanta, Sanskrit, and Yoga. It found that the Home Ministry’s view that the Trust “appears to be religious” was only tentative and did not meet the clear finding required under Section 11 of the FCRA.

The Court also said that once an alleged FCRA violation is compounded under Section 41, it cannot be used against the applicant again.

The rejection was set aside and the application directed to be reconsidered within three months.

[Arsha Vidya Parampara Trust v. UOI & Anr.]