PM CARES Fund can’t be declared State; not public authority: PMO to Delhi HC

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has, in an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court, stated that the PMCARES Fund cannot be labelled as a “public authority” under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and it is not a “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution of India.

According to Live Law, the affidavit came in response to a plea moved by Samyak Gangwal in 2021, seeking a declaration that the PM CARES Fund is a “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution. According to the petitioner, that would ensure that the Fund’s audit reports, quarterly details of donations received, their utilization, and resolutions on expenditure are disclosed periodically.

Alternatively, the petitioner has sought that the Centre widely publicize that it is not a government-owned fund, that the fund should not use “PM” in its name, the state emblem, the “gov.in” domain name in its website, and the PMO as its official address.

Gangwal had filed another petition in 2020, seeking to declare PM CARES Fund a public authority under the Right to Information Act.

Also read: PM CARES is not a Government of India fund, Centre tells Delhi HC

“No govt control”

While arguing against the petition, the PMO has stated that the PM CARES Fund was set up as a Public Charitable Trust and not under the Indian Constitution, the Parliament, or any state legislature.

“This Trust is neither intended to be or 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 functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever,” states the affidavit filed by the Undersecretary of PMO.

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was formed on March 27, 2020, to extend assistance to the citizens of India in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only voluntary donations

The PMO has also clarified that PM CARES Fund accepts only voluntary donations from individuals and institutions. No contribution from the government’s budgetary sources or public sector undertakings, which would reflect in their balance sheets, is accepted.

Also read: Delhi HC objects to Centre’s one-page reply to PM CARES Fund PIL

“Contributions made to PM CARES Fund/Trust are exempted under the Income Tax Act, 1961, but that by itself would not justify the conclusion that it is a “Public Authority,” it says. The fund enjoys I-T exemption like any other private trust.

“The contributions as well as corpus of PM CARES has no remote nexus with the Consolidated Fund of India,” the affidavit adds.

“Not governed by govt policy”

The PMO has further justified that the fund cannot be called a public authority because it was created for a “purely charitable” cause. The funds are not used for any government projects. Neither is the Trust governed by any government policy.

The affidavit also states that the fund was not born of a decision or function of the government. It does not even have any government character “as no guidelines can be laid down for disbursement of the amount from the funds.”

Also read: HC asks Centre to file a detailed reply on plea to declare PM CARES Fund a State

The affidavit also states that all developments related to the PM CARES Fund are in public domain on the website pmcares.gov.in where its audited reports are also available.

The PMO has argued that both PM CARES Fund and Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) are chaired by the Prime Minister. That is why the National Emblem and domain name “gov.in” are used for both.