NEW DELHI: A court in New Delhi on Wednesday ordered authorities to unfreeze Greenpeace India’s bank accounts, extending a lifeline to the activist group which had faced closure of its local operations.

The High Court said Greenpeace could also receive local donations into its two main accounts, handing the environmental group a victory in its ongoing battle with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. “Our domestic accounts have been unblocked. This gives us the minimum resources to function and continue to protect India’s environment,” the group said on Twitter after the court ruling.

“We’re enormously relieved that the court has given us this lifeline,” said Greenpeace India executive director Samit Aich in a statement. Greenpeace said, however, that the ruling was only an interim one, with further court hearings into its petition against the government’s crackdown expected later this year.

The right-wing government last month withdrew the group’s foreign funding license, citing violations of rules by opening accounts for foreign donations without informing authorities.