New Delhi, 26 April: During the hearing on the demand to declare the PM Cares Fund as a government fund, the petitioner said that the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers hold constitutional posts and they cannot be allowed to run this fund privately.
During the hearing in the Delhi High Court, the petitioner’s lawyer Shyam Diwan said these things.
Shyam Divan said that the question is whether the persons holding the constitutional post can work by forming a group outside the constitution. This fund is closely related to the Prime Minister of the country. The Defense Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister are ex-officio members on the board of this trust.
He said that as soon as the word ex-officio appears, it means that whoever sits on that post will join the board.
Then the court asked the Diwan that what you mean by saying that trust cannot be formed. On this, Diwan said that a trust can be formed but if it belongs to the government, then it will have to fulfill all the constitutional obligations. You cannot operate like a private company outside the Constitution.
During the hearing on October 11, 2021, the Central Government told the High Court that the money coming into the PM Cares Fund does not come in the consolidated account of the Government of India. So it is not a government fund.
The central government had said that in order to maintain transparency in the fund, the money received by this trust and all its details are also uploaded on the official website.
Shyam Divan had said that many Union Ministers and even the Vice President of the country said that this is the result of the efforts of the Government of India.
Diwan cited the example of public appeals by the Vice President, Minister of Defense including the Minister of the Center and high officials of the government, in which the common people and government employees were asked to, donate to the PM Cares Fund. It is clear from these appeals that PM Cares Fund is a national fund, which has been constituted by the Government of India.
Dewan had said that we are not saying that PM Cares Fund is bad but it should come under the ambit of the Constitution.
On September 23, 2021, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that it does not have control over the PM Cares Fund and is a charitable trust.
Under Secretary of the PMO Pradeep Kumar Srivastava has said in the affidavit that he is not bound to disclose the information of third parties under the Right to Information.
Srivastava has said that he holds an honorary position in the trust and there is transparency in its work. It has been said in the affidavit that the audit of PM Cares Fund is done by a chartered accountant and then by the panel of CAG. The audit report of PM Cares Fund is uploaded on its website.
On August 17, 2021, the court had issued notice to the central government. The petition has been filed by Samyak Gangwal. Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioner, expressed concern over the ambiguity in public and permanent funds.
He had said that the petitioner is not making allegations of misuse of PM Cares Fund but this clarity is necessary to avoid allegations of corruption or misuse in future.
Dewan had said that the PM Cares Fund does not run in the name of a constitutional functionary, who cannot escape from the principles enshrined in the Constitution nor can he enter into any agreement outside the Constitution.
