CBI books prominent environmental lawyer Ritwik Dutta for violations of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against noted environmental lawyer Ritwik Dutta for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. 

The lawyer was booked in response to a complaint from the Union Home Ministry alleging that Dutta’s organisation, LIFE was receiving funds from USA-based Earth Justice (EJ) to litigate against Indian coal projects with the intention of “targeting and stalling them”, a practice that the ministry deemed a “violation of FCRA”.

The complaint, which is now part of the FIR, named Dutta, who has been honored with numerous prestigious awards, including Sweden's Right Livelihood Award for 2021, which is an alternative to the Nobel Prize. Dutta was honored for hid efforts to protect India's environment through the premises of law.

According to the complaint, LIFE had received funds disguised as "professional receipts" from Earth Justice USA with the intention of funding the targeting and stalling of development projects. 

The complaint also stated that Dutta's advocacy group, Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE), was receiving foreign funds to allegedly stall development projects rather than providing EJ with legal advice for financial consideration. Dutta was alleged to have received Rs. 41 lakh in foreign contributions from EJ in the financial year 2013-2014, and had established LIFE Proprietorship with Rs. 22 crores in professional receipts between the years 2016 and 21.

The complaint alleges that funds had continued to flow from EJ to Dutta for the purpose of litigating against coal projects, and that EJ is an American non-governmental organization that allegedly provides funding to legal professionals in various nations.

The complaint also claimed that EJ and the Sandler Foundation in the United States had proposed funding legal activism with the goal of "taking down" India's existing or proposed coal projects, which would violate the FCRA and be detrimental to India's economic security. Moreover, it affirmed that ECF (European Environment Establishment) was directing USD 120,000 through EJ to LIFE for suit, regardless of the way that EJ and ECF were not defendants in any of the cases in which LIFE was the disputant.

Also read : Assam: Congress expels Angkita Dutta from the party for six years over her alleged ‘anti-party’ activities