The Delhi high court will pronounce on Monday its order on the plea of the leading think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) for utilising 25% of its funds in its fixed deposits (FD) for salaries months after its license under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) was suspended in February.

The suspension came five months after the Income Tax department surveyed the premises of CPR, Oxfam India, and the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation, which funds digital media entities.

“Monday…pronouncement on the [CPR] application,” said a Justice Subramonium Prasad-led bench while reserving its order. The think tank has challenged the suspension of its license. ​​

The high court on Tuesday directed the Union government to decide by Wednesday the amount CPR could use from the 25% unutilized funds. “If they want to survive, they have 20 crore and 1/4th will be 5 crore. If you permit them 1/4th which is 5.5 crore, what is the prejudice that will cause? You need to decide on the unutilized till tomorrow otherwise I am closing the matter tomorrow. Why cannot [CPR] be permitted to break the FDs and pay the salaries?” Justice Prasad asked advocate Arunima Dwivedi, who appeared for the government.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, who appeared for CPR, cited FCRA Rules and said they allow an organisation whose licence has been suspended to spend 25% of unutilized funds with prior approval for declared aims and objects. He added you may get a grant at the beginning of the year. “Money which we do not need immediately, we are bound to put in a government bond or some security which bears interest. The idea is 25%. I have a right to get it. The relaxation is because I have been suspended. Once suspended, I have day-to-day expenses and I have to pay salaries. We are now asking the court as to what the amount in my custody would be,” Datar said.

Dwivedi objected to CPR’s request saying it would have “grave ramifications” and would become a precedent and prompted Justice Prasad to ask for the reason for the refusal to permit CPR to utilise FDs to pay salaries.

The government told the court CPR’s foreign funding needed to be stopped as it was receiving its foreign contributions for “undesirable purposes” likely to affect the state’s economic interest. It added CPR transferred foreign contributions to other entities and deposited the contributions in non-designated accounts in violation of FCRA.