Supreme Court Rejects Request of PM-CARES funds

Recently, the Supreme Court reported that money collected under the PM CARES Fund for the coronavirus pandemic need not be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

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Key-Points

There is “no occasion” for the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to audit a public charitable trust independent of budgetary support or government money.

The court said that it is “not open” for a PIL petitioner to question the “wisdom” that created the fund in an hour of need.

NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, had argued that the PM-CARES Fund was not subject to CAG audit. It was not under “public scrutiny”. Contributions to it were “100% tax-free”.

The court dismissed the idea that the PM CARES was constituted to “circumvent” the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) — the statutory fund already in existence under the Disaster Management Act of 2005 to receive contributions to finance the fight against a calamity.

The court refused to direct the transfer of funds from the PM CARES Fund to the NDRF. It said they were two separate entities.