New Delhi: The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund is not a “public authority” as defined by the Right to Information Act, and therefore, the Trust does not come under its provisions, the central government told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.
In a detailed affidavit submitted to the court, the Centre said, “PM CARES Fund has not been created under the Constitution of India or by any law made by Parliament or state legislature.” It added, “This Trust is neither intended to be nor is in fact owned, controlled or substantially financed by any Government nor any instrumentality of the Government. There is no control of either the Central Government or any State Governments, either direct or indirect, in the functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever.”
The court was hearing a plea seeking to declare the PM CARES Fund a ‘State’ under the Constitution to ensure transparency in its functioning. The government submitted a detailed response in the matter after a Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad had expressed displeasure over the one-page reply filed by the Centre in July.
The affidavit states that “the composition of the Board of Trustees consisting of holders of Public Office ex Officio is merely for administrative convenience and for smooth succession to the Trusteeship”.
The PM CARES Board of Trustees comprises the Union Home Minister and the Union Finance Minister, along with Ratan Tata, the former chairman of Tata Sons, KT Thomas, former Judge, Supreme Court, and Kariya Munda, Former Deputy Speaker.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioners, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan argued, “high functionaries of the government like the Vice-President had requested the Rajya Sabha members to make donations” and that “the PM CARES Fund has been projected as a government fund”.
The affidavit, however, calls the PM CARES Fund a “public charitable trust”, which accepts only “voluntary donations” and is “not a business of the Central government”, the response stated, “PM CARES Fund does not receive funds or finances by the Government.”
The government added, “PM CARES uses the National Emblem and the domain name ‘http://gov.in‘ because they are used by the rime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The PM CARES Fund is administered on the pattern of PMNRF as both are chaired by the Prime Minister,” it said.
The High Court has asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s office to inform the court of his availability to argue the government’s case.
The PM CARES Fund was constituted on April 1, 2020, to receive charitable contributions to deal with emergency situations like the Covid-19 outbreak. The Corporate Affairs Ministry had clarified that contributions by companies towards the PM-CARES Fund will count towards mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.
—Agencies

Press Trust of India