Indian activist investigated over anti-fossil fuels campaign
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NEW DELHI – The Indian authorities are investigating a prominent climate activist for allegedly using foreign funds to further an anti-fossil fuel agenda.
Harjeet Singh, a founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, said in a statement that he had been arrested on Jan 5 after law enforcement officials searched his residence. He is currently out on bail.
The search was part of an ongoing investigation into whether Singh received 60 million rupees (S$856,560) between 2021 and 2025 from international organisations such as Climate Action Network and Stand.Earth, according to a statement from the authorities.
However, Singh was arrested for an unrelated offence: an amount of liquor found in his home that violated local restrictions.
According to the government, the foreign funds Singh is suspected of receiving were intended to promote the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty. The proposed international agreement seeks to end coal, oil and gas expansion and manage a global phaseout of the fuels. It is currently supported by 18 countries.
While India is rapidly expanding its renewables fleet, the country is also tapping into its vast coal resources to strengthen energy security and reduce fuel imports. The government is considering a plan to expand its coal capacity to 420 gigawatts by 2047, a 87 per cent rise from now that could thwart the country’s net zero ambitions, Bloomberg News reported in December 2025.
The adoption of the proposed treaty “could expose India to legal challenges in international forums like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and severely compromise the nation’s energy security and economic development,” the Directorate of Enforcement, which conducted the search, said in its statement announcing Singh’s arrest.
A spokesperson for India’s Ministry of Finance, which oversees the Directorate of Enforcement, did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
When reached by phone, Singh said he could not comment on the liquor violation, but called the other allegations “biased and baseless”.
He said he had never lobbied for India to join the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty. The accusations “disregard years of advocacy on behalf of India and other developing nations,” he said.
The Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, which coordinates the campaign, is monitoring Singh’s situation and unable to comment on specifics of the investigation, the organisation said in a statement.
“We do not seek to pressure any developing country to join,” Mr Tzeporah Berman, the initiative’s chair, said in the statement. “The proposal intends to support developing countries – including India – through international cooperation, economic diversification, access to finance, and technology transfer.” BLOOMBERG
