Indian police have raided the homes and offices of high-profile Indian climate activists, on the orders of the government\u2019s Enforcement Directorate, accusing them of jeopardising India\u2019s energy security by campaigning against fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
The Delhi home and offices of Harjeet Singh and his partner Jyoti Awasthi, who are co-founders of Satat Sampada Private Limited (SSPL) and Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, were searched on Monday in an operation that led to Singh\u2019s arrest, according to a press release by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).<\/p>\n
A statement issued on Wednesday by Satat Sampada, which promotes organic farming, sustainable development, climate action and environment-friendly solutions, said Singh had been granted bail on Tuesday by the District Court of Ghaziabad \u201con the merits of the case\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Hindustan Times reported<\/a>, based on conversations with anonymous officials, that the ED had also searched the home of Sanjay Vashisht, director of Climate Action Network South Asia.<\/p>\n While the ED has not publicly announced its raid on Vashisht\u2019s residence, it said that Satat Sampada was investigated on suspicion of illegally using around $667,000 in funding from outside India \u201cto promote the agenda of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FF-NPT) within India\u201d.<\/p>\n Singh\u2019s social media profiles state that he is a strategic advisor to the FFNPT Initiative. It is a non-governmental campaign that advocates for a \u201cconcrete, binding plan to end the expansion of new coal, oil and gas projects and manage a global transition away from fossil fuels\u201d. Eighteen countries \u2013 15 small island nations, Pakistan, Colombia and Cambodia \u2013 have so far backed the idea, along with 145 cities and subnational governments including India\u2019s Kolkata.<\/p>\n India\u2019s ED said on the FFNPT that while \u201cpresented as a climate initiative, its adoption could expose India to legal challenges in international forums like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and severely compromise the nation\u2019s energy security and economic development\u201d.<\/p>\n Tzeporah Berman, founder and chair of the FFNPT Initiative, said in a statement that the proposed concept of the treaty \u201cclearly articulates the principle of common but differentiated historical responsibilities for the climate crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201dThe proposal intends to support developing countries \u2013 including India \u2013 through international cooperation, economic diversification, access to finance and technology transfer,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The FFNPT Initiative did not comment on Singh\u2019s case, saying it is \u201cawaiting the outcome of the investigation\u201d.<\/p>\n In the statement issued by Satat Sampada on their behalf, Singh and Awasthi, who serves as its CEO, highlighted media reports about the raid and arrest, saying: \u201cWe categorically state that the allegations being reported are baseless, biased, and misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n Warning of further crackdown<\/p>\n The Hindustan Times cited an anonymous ED official saying: \u201cWe received intelligence around the COP30 [climate summit] that some climate activists were campaigning against fossil fuels at the behest of some foreign organizations\u2026This is when we decided to look at [Singh\u2019s] foreign funding\u201d. Another officer added that \u201csimilar activists or organisations whose climate campaigns may be inimical to India\u2019s energy security are under the scanner\u201d.<\/p>\n The ED said it suspected that Satat Sampada had received money from campaign groups like Climate Action Network and Stand.Earth, which in turn had received funds from \u201cprior reference category\u201d NGOs like Rockefeller Philanthrophy Advisors. Indian individuals and organisations are supposed to obtain permission from India\u2019s Ministry of Home Affairs to receive funds from foreign donor agencies that are included in this \u201cprior reference category\u201d.<\/p>\n