JUDGMENT :

DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN, J.

1. This statutory appeal under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (for short ‘the FCRA’) has been preferred by the India Pentecostal Church of God and its Pastor, who is also its General President, impugning the order dated 18.10.2019 issued by the third respondent-Deputy Director General, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to the extent to which it relates to them.

2. The appellants say that as per this order, their registration under the FCRA has been cancelled by the third respondent, invoking the provisions of Section 14 of it and they say that the only reason stated therein for taking this drastic action is that they had not uploaded their Annual Returns as required by the said Statute within the time sanctioned. They point out that, going by the provisions of law, they had to upload the Annual Returns for the year 2017-18 on or before 31.12.2018 but that this was extended through a public notice dated 29.12.2018, a copy of which has been placed on record as Ext.R3(a), till 31.03.2019. They allege that on account of certain unavoidable circumstances, including defects in their PAN Account, they were able to upl