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Allows to File Application Under
The has paved the way for the to seek of the offence under the by directing the to provide the necessary email ID and online portal details. Justice Milind N. Jadhav, hearing an , observed that the of a cannot deny the applicant the to compound the offence under .
A Narrowed Case and a Quest to Compound
The dispute began with an registered by the , against the under the , the , and the FCRA. However, after investigation, the charges under the IPC and PC Act were dropped, and the filed before the , was limited to offences under the FCRA, specifically Section 41 read with other provisions. The then filed a seeking quashing of these proceedings. In the interim, they sought to avail the remedy of —a process that allows the offence to be settled without a full trial—by filing an application under .
The Procedural Hurdle
The applicants argued that they were ready to pay the prescribed fee of Rs. 3,000, but were unable to do so because the had not provided them with the email ID and online portal required to submit the application electronically. Despite multiple requests, the Ministry’s response, as reflected in a letter dated , stated that the matter was “” and therefore the request for was not accepted. The approached the High Court, seeking directions to the Ministry to provide the necessary electronic access.
A Cannot Be Denied
Justice Jadhav firmly rejected the Ministry’s stand. He noted that Rule 21 of the FCRA Rules clearly provides for of offences, and that the of the could not be a ground to deny the applicants the opportunity to file such an application. The court observed:
“ of the matter or the matter being cannot preclude the Applicants from filing the said Application or for that matter they be denied permission for .”
Further, the court highlighted the significance of the right to compound when only FCRA charges remain:
“Once the said Rule has been complied with and most importantly in view of the only charge against the Applicants being that under , then a accrues to the Applicants for seeking of the said offence, which cannot be denied.”
Directions and Next Steps
The court allowed the in terms of prayer clauses (a) and (b), directing the Secretary, (Foreigners II Division, FCRA Wing, Monitoring Unit) to provide the email ID or website where the application can be made, as well as details of the portal for payment of the fee. Compliance must be completed within one week.
Additionally, the court directed the trial court seized of C.C. No. 740/PW/2025 to hear the application as expeditiously as possible and preferably within four weeks from the date of filing. The main seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings has been listed for hearing on .
All contentions of both sides were expressly kept open, and the court clarified that its observations were not to be construed as comments on the merits of the case. With this order, the has been handed a clear procedural pathway to settle the FCRA charges, while the larger quashing challenge remains pending.
