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

The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that the PM CARES Fund is “not a fund of Government of India and the amount does not go in the Consolidated Fund of India”. 

The affidavit filed by an undersecretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the fund is a charitable trust not created by or under the Constitution or by any law made by Parliament or by State legislature. 

Undersecretary Pradeep Kumar Srivastava said despite being an officer of the central government, he was permitted to discharge his functions in PM CARES Trust on an honorary basis. Srivastava claimed PM CARES functions with transparency and its funds are audited by a CA drawn from the panel prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

“To ensure transparency, the audited report is put on the official website of the Trust along with the details of utilisation of funds received by the Trust,” the undersecretary said. 

The Centre’s affidavit came in response to a petition filed by Samyak Gangwal before the high court seeking to declare PM CARES as a ‘public authority’ under the Right to Information Act.

It said irrespective of whether the trust is a ‘State’ or other authority within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution or whether it is a ‘public authority’ within the meaning of provisions of the RTI, it is not permissible to disclose third party information.

“When the petitioner is claiming to be a public-spirited person and seeking to pray for various reliefs only for transparency, it does not matter whether PM CARES is a “State” within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India,” the Centre said. 

The Centre, additionally, said the PM CARES functions on the principles of transparency and public good in larger public interest like any other charitable trust and does not have any objection in uploading all its resolutions on its website to ensure transparency.