The Karnataka High Court on Friday set aside a 2018 notice by the Enforcement Directorate for blocking Amnesty International India Private Limited’s bank account, reported The Indian Express.

On October 26, 2018, the investigating agency had issued the notice under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Income Tax Act.

The order was issued a day after the Enforcement Directorate had searched the premises of Amnesty International India’s Bengaluru office in connection with allegations that it violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

However on Friday, the High Court quashed the notice saying that its validity was for only 60 days, according to The Indian Express.

In September 2020, the human rights organisation had said it was forced to shut its operations as the Indian government had frozen its bank accounts. The group had said its “lawful fundraising model” was being portrayed as money laundering because Amnesty India had challenged the “government’s grave inactions and excesses”.

In July 2022, the Enforcement Directorate had also imposed a fine of Rs 51.72 crore on Amnesty India International and Rs 10 crore on the human rights organisation’s chairperson Aakar Patel for allegedly violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act.