New Delhi: A delegation of Christian leaders led by DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah with a plea to withdraw the proposed Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, taking exception to its “confiscatory” nature.
The delegation contended that the law proposed would replace the existing regulatory regime with the one that adversely affects charitable institutions across the country.
If the government is not inclined to withdraw the bill, it should refer it, along with a comprehensive review of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), the delegation said in a memorandum submitted to Shah. It also demanded repeal of Section 15 of the existing Act dealing with vesting of assets.
According to a statement issued by Joint Action Forum on Minorities (JAFM) chaired by Wilson, the delegation comprised representatives of various Christian denominations, Archbishop Anil Couto, CSI Moderator K Reuben Mark, evangelist Paul Dhinakaran, representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, and National Council of Churches in India and Church of North India.
In the memorandum, the delegation said it does not oppose the regulation of foreign contribution, which it accepts as “a legitimate and necessary function of the State.” “But the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026… travels far beyond regulation and, if enacted in its present form, will occasion hardship of a kind that no subsequent order of any court or authority will be able to undo,” it said.
The memorandum alleged that the proposed legislation “replaces a regulatory regime with a confiscatory one” by shifting “from sanction of the licence to complete divesting property of the institution itself.” It claimed that charitable assets could vest in a designated government authority automatically, without any prior hearing or independent determination.
The delegation argued that the proposed law would affect institutions running schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, old-age homes and other welfare facilities.
“The harm falls upon beneficiaries, not upon wrongdoers. The institutions that will be affected run schools, colleges, hospitals, dispensaries… When a certificate ceases and the assets vest, it is the patient in the ward, the child in the hostel and the inmate of the home who is turned out, not any person accused of any offence,” the memorandum read.
It further argued that a large number of institutions engaged in educational, medical and charitable work are administered by religious minorities and secular voluntary organisations.
“Under the existing law, such an organisation lost its licence and retained a statutory right to the return of its assets upon re-registration. Under the Bill, it will lose its buildings, and lose them permanently,” it said.
The delegation maintained that the objectives of transparency, accountability and prevention of misuse of foreign contributions could be achieved under the existing legal framework without introducing provisions permitting the vesting or takeover of charitable assets.
According to the statement, the minister interacted with the delegation for more than an hour, heard its concerns, and assured them that he would look into the grievances.
