HC admits Udhayakumar's plea against FIR under FCRA Act

The Madurai bench of Madras High Court today ordered a notice to police and a Union Home Ministry official on a petition by anti-nuclear activist S P Udhayakumar seeking to quash an FIR against him for allegedly receiving overseas funds in violation of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) for a trust headed by him.
Admitting a petition by Udhayakumar, spearheading the protests against Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Justice N Kirubakaran directed the CB-CID Inspector of Nagercoil and Director, Ministry of Home Affairs (FCRA) to file their counters.
The petitioner, Covenor of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), sought to quash the First Information Report registered by the Inspector Under Sec.35 of the FCRA on Sept 3, 2012 and also a stay on further proceedings based on it.

He submitted the FCRA wing officials during March 29-30, 2012 conducted an inspection of the accounts and records of his Association "South Asian Community Centre for Education and and Research Trust" at Nagercoil.
The officials in a complaint charged him and his wife with violationg the FCRA Act and based on the report an FIR was registered, he said.
Udhayakumar alleged police officials were harassing him, the Managing Trustee of the trust and his wife, trustee, till now, regularly though they did not commit any offence as made out in the FIR.

The case had been filed only to curtail the struggle against the nucelar plant at Kudankulam. The police had already filed 350 cases against him and other PMANE activists. This case was also one such case, he contended.

The report submitted by the FCRA wing officials did not have the name and designation of the officials who conducted the inspection, he claimed adding they volunteered to give explanations and clarifications.
The allegations included that the petitioner and his wife received salary from an organisation not functioning in India, they received Rs.2.32 lakh from a foreign source and unspecified amount from another foreign source.
The allegations were not sustainable in the eye of law, Udhayakumar submitted and sought quashing of the FIR.