MUMBAI, May 26 -- The Bombay High Court recently quashed an order of the Union home ministry, which had refused to grant an NGO registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA), observing that the ministry must cite reasons for refusing such permission. The Kolhapur bench of the court was hearing a petition filed by the Pandharpur-based Prabha Hira Pratishthan (PHP). The NGO has been running the Palawi project in villages across Maharashtra, working with HIV+ children, orphans and destitute women, said its secretary, Dimple Ghadge. PHP had moved court challenging an order passed by the FCRA Wing of the home ministry on August 18, 2025, turning down the NGO's application for registration under FCRA. A division bench of Justices Madhav Jamdar and Pravin Patil observed in their order of May 5, "It is clear that it is mandatory for the central government to record in its order the reasons and furnish a copy thereof to the petitioner if the central government refuses the grant of certificate or does not give prior permission" in such applications seeking registration under FCRA. While the court did not consider the merits of PHP's case, it remanded the case back to the ministry to decide it afresh after giving the NGO the opportunity to be heard. Since PHP's application seeking FCRA registration was filed in October 2024, the court said it should be decided within four months. Under FCRA, a person or an association can receive foreign funds if it carries out a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme and has been granted prior approval or registration by the central government. Organisations that receive foreign funds or grants for their work apply online to the ministry for permission under FCRA. PHP had contended that while denying it FCRA registration, the ministry had neither given them any reasons for its decision nor a hearing. The ministry, on the other hand, told the court that giving reasons was not a mandatory requirement under FCRA. It had refused PHP FCRA registration, citing section 12 of the FCRA. The judges said that although the proviso to sub-section (5) of Section 12 says that the central government may not communicate the reasons for refusal for grant of certificate or for not giving prior permission in cases in which there is no obligation to give any information, documents, records, or papers under the Right to Information Act, "there is nothing on record to show that the said proviso is applicable to the facts of the present case". The organisation had held an FCRA certificate since 2010, and it was renewed in 2017 and in 2022, PHP said. However, on March 31, 2023, their FCRA certificate was cancelled. The NGO then made a fresh application in October 2024. It moved the high court after the ministry turned down its application in 2025. In 2022, PHP collaborated with an organisation in Spain for a girls' education programme, and the Palawi project had received grants from three different organisations based in the US and Canada. PHP claimed that funds of up to Rs.60 lakh had been stalled because its FCRA certificate was not in place....