Think tank under CBI lens  for using PM Modi’s name

A private think tank that called itself the "Centre for Narendra Modi Studies" has come under the CBI’s scanner for allegedly using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name without authorisation. The agency has now registered a formal case following a reference from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

According to officials, the trust was registered on January 25, 2021, under the Indian Trusts Act, 1860, by one Jasim Mohammad -- allegedly without any approval from the central government or the PMO. 

Funding, activities to be probed

An inspector-level officer of the CBI’s Special Crimes unit in New Delhi will look into activities of the 'Centre for Narendra Modi Studies'. It will probe its sources of funding and whether it projected any official association with the Prime Minister or the government.

A preliminary inquiry launched by the CBI earlier this year found that the name of the Prime Minister had been used in violation of section 3 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act.

The PMO referred the matter to the CBI on March 26, 2025, after receiving a complaint from Mushtaq Ahmad Hussain, an Aligarh-based advocate, in September last year. Following this, the CBI initiated the preliminary inquiry on April 17, this year, to verify the allegations.

"The investigation revealed that the name of the Prime Minister was used without obtaining necessary permission from the Central Government," the CBI said in a recently registered FIR, adding that such use attracts punishment under Section 5 of the Act.

Since the violation constitutes a non-cognisable offence, the agency sought permission from court to proceed under Section 174 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Rouse Avenue District Court, granted approval on October 14, allowing the agency to register a regular case.

According to official sources, the probe has been entrusted to an inspector-level officer of the CBI’s Special Crimes unit in New Delhi who will most likely now look into the trust’s activities, sources of funding, and whether it projected any official association with the Prime Minister or the government.