Plea in HC seeks disclosure of PM CARES Fund audit report
New Delhi, March 9: The Delhi High Court will hear on April23 a petition seeking declaration of Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance andRelief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund as a "State" anddisclosure of its audit report periodically.
Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh clubbedthis case with an application to bring PM CARES Fund under the Right to InformationAct and listed both matters for hearing on April 23.
Both the pleas were filed by petitioner Samyak Gangwal, whosought declaration of the fund as 'the State' under Article 12 of theConstitution of India.
The second prayer seeks the court to direct PM CARES Fund todisclose its audit report on its website periodically along with the details ofthe donations received and their utilisation every quarter.
"PM CARES Fund performs a public function, which issimilar to government functions. It utilises the privileges, benefits andexemptions which are reserved for the state," the petitioner contended.
The petition also raised an issue over a paragraph in thetrust deed issued on the PM CARES website, where it is stated that the trust isnot controlled by the government.
"It is unimaginable that a fund, which has been set upby the Prime Minister of India, has been declared to be a fund over which thereis no government control," the petitioner said.