Rejection of FCRA registration was examined on whether alleged...

Rejection of FCRA registration was examined on whether alleged contraventions justified denial. Receipt of foreign contribution without prior permission could not sustain rejection because the authority itself offered compounding during pendency of scrutiny, the offence was formally compounded, and no clear warning was given that compounding would still trigger disqualification under the statute. The additional ground of transfer of foreign contribution to another entity was vitiated for breach of natural justice and vagueness, as it was introduced without notice or particulars. Treating the applicant as "religious" was also flawed because a subsisting income-tax charitable status was relevant under the non-overriding clause, and ignoring it showed non-application of mind; the order was set aside and remanded for fresh notice and reconsideration. - HC

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