PM Cares Fund Was Declared As a Public Charitable Fund And Not a Government Fund By Delhi High Court.

The PM Cares Fund was established as a separate Public Charitable Trust, according to the Central Government’s declaration to the Delhi High Court, and neither the Center nor the State Governments have any direct or indirect control over how it functions.

In response to a Petition calling for the PM Cares Fund to be recognized as a “State,” the Center stated in a comprehensive affidavit that “There is no control of either the Central Government or any State Government/s, either direct or indirect, in the operation of the Trust in any manner.”

The Declaration stated that the PM Cares Fund does not accept donations from public sector entities’ budgets or balance sheets and only accepts voluntary donations.

After hearing the arguments put up on behalf of petitioner Samyak Gangwal, a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad told the Solicitor General’s office to let the court know when Tushar Mehta will be available to argue the matter.

According to the affidavit submitted by Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, Under Secretary in the PMO, PM CARES is not a “public authority” for the RTI Act, hence the Requests made in the Current Petition are not maintainable.

According to Section 2(h)(d) of the Right to Information Act, PM Cares Fund is not a “public authority,” and because of this, the RTI Act’s requirements cannot be applied to it. This was stated in the document too.

It should be recalled that the Centre filed the answer after the High Court voiced its disapproval with its earlier response in July 2022.

According to the petitioners’ senior attorney Shyam Divan, senior government officials had approached Rajya Sabha members for donations and the PM Cares Fund had been like a government fund.

Government officials serving on the Board of trustees, according to the government, are purely for administrative convenience and have nothing to do with political influence.

The Declaration reads, “Holders of Public Office ex Officio are members of the Board of Trustees merely for administrative convenience and orderly succession to the trusteeship.”

The PM Cares Fund, according to the Central Government, operates transparently and is audited by a chartered accountant, whose reports are posted on the website pmcares.gov.in.

The affidavit stated that because both are presided over by the Prime Minister, PM Cares Fund is run following the pattern of the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

Gangwal has asked that the PM CARES Fund be known as a State. The Fund’s Audit Reports will then be made public regularly, together with information on donations received, their usage, and decisions made about their expenditure, he stated.

Alternately, it is argued that the Centre should make it widely known that the PM CARES Fund is not a government-owned fund if Article 12 determines that it is not a State. Additionally, the Petition asks that the PM CARES Fund be prohibited from using the terms “PM” or “gov” in their names or websites, or the PM’s Office for their official address.

What is PM Cares Fund and how it works?

On March 28, 2020, the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation Fund were established, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being its chairman. The government established the PM CARES Fund, known as  Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, to work with Emergency or distress situations, including the COVID-19 epidemic.

The website for the firm, which is hosted on a Government Domain, lists the Prime Minister of India being the PM CARES Fund’s Chairperson (Ex-Officio), as well as the Union Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs, and Finance being its ex-officio trustees. It further mentions that the PM CARES Fund is honorarily managed by the Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary in charge of the PMO.

Under the name PM CARES Fund, this Public Charitable Trust has been established to help those who are affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 in urgent situations. To fight bad disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the PM CARES is a special national fund.

Goals of the PM CARES Fund:

• A public health emergency or any Emergency, calamity, or any kind of distress, whether caused by a natural disaster or by human action, should be addressed and supported in any possible way. This includes building or maintaining healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities or other necessary infrastructure, providing funding for pertinent research, or giving other forms of help.
• To provide the impacted population with financial support, grants, or payments of money, or to take other actions that the Board of Trustees may think necessary.
• To engage in an activity that is not in conflict with the aforementioned objects.

Contributions:

• The fund receives no Budgetary Support and is funded by voluntary contributions from people and companies.
• Any person or company, including Businesses, Associations, and other Nonprofit Organizations, may contribute to the Fund.
• One has the option to make a microdonation through the PM CARES Fund; the minimum gift is Rs. 10.
• Contributions to the PM CARES Fund would be 100% exempt from taxation under the Income Tax Act’s 80G provisions.
• According to the Companies Act of 2013, contributions to the PM CARES Fund are eligible to be accounted for in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) costs.
• Additionally, it is free from the FCRA. Which makes it possible for the PM CARES Fund to receive gifts and contributions from people and companies based abroad.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma