Delhi HC informed PM CARES Fund not of govt, third party info can’t be revealed
By MYBRANDBOOK
The Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday that the PM CARES Fund is not a government fund as donations to it do not go to the Consolidated Fund of India and therefore no third party information can be parted with irrespective of its status under the Constitution and the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
An affidavit filed by an undersecretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), who is discharging his functions in the PM Cares Trust on honorary basis, said that the trust functions with transparency and its funds are audited by an auditor -- a chartered accountant drawn from the panel prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Irrespective of the status of Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) under the Constitution and the RTI Act, the PM CARES Fund is not permissible to disclose third party information.
The affidavit was filed in response to a petition seeking a direction to declare the PM CARES Fund a 'State' under the Constitution to ensure transparency in its functioning. The same petitioner has also filed another petition to declare PM CARES as a "public authority" under the RTI Act, which is being heard together with this plea.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad heard the arguments advanced on behalf of petitioner Samyak Gangwal and asked the office of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to inform the court about his availability to argue the case.
“I reiterate and submit that the PM CARES Fund has been set up as a Public Charitable Trust. This Trust is not created by or under the Constitution of India or by any law made by the Parliament or by any State Legislature. This Trust is neither intended to be or is in fact owned, controlled or substantially financed by any government nor any instrumentality of the government. There is no control of either the Central government or any state government/s, either direct or indirect, in functioning of the Trust in any manner whatsoever,” the official Pradeep Kumar Srivastava, Under Secretary at the PMO said.
The affidavit added that the composition of the Board of Trustees consisting of holders of 'Public Office ex-Officio' is merely for administrative convenience and for smooth succession to the Trusteeship.
It said PM CARES is not a “public authority” within the meaning of Section 2(h)(d) of the RTI Act and as such provisions of the Act cannot be made applicable on the trust and added that on this preliminary issue the petition deserves to be dismissed.
“The PM CARES accepts only voluntary donations by individuals and institutions. Contributions flowing out of budgetary sources of government or from the balance sheets of the public sector undertakings are not accepted. Conditional contributions, where the donor specifically mentions that the amount is meant for a particular purpose, are not accepted in the Fund,” the affidavit said.
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
InterGlobe’s Rahul Bhatia and C.P. Gurnani together announce
In a move that is set to transform the AI landscape, Rahul Bhatia, Group M...
Download masked Aadhaar to improve privacy
Download a masked Aadhaar from UIDAI to improve privacy. Select masking w...
Sterlite Technologies' Rs 145 crore claim against BSNL rejecte
An arbitrator has rejected broadband technology company Sterlite Technolog...
ID-REDACT® ensures full compliance with the DPDP Act for Indi
Data Safeguard India Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Data Safeguard ...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Salman Khan trolled for singing with B Praak at Anant Ambani's
To celebrate Mukesh Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani’s 29th birthday
Disney+ Hotstar wins the Best OTT Platform of the year
Film Critics Guild and Group M Motion Entertainment, in collaboration with
MOVERS & SHAKERS
SISL elevates Ankita Wadhawan as CEO—End User Computing
The IT service provider, SISL in a LinkedIn post announced the elevation
InfoVision appoints Radhika Venkatraman to its Advisory Board
Global digital services company, InfoVision has announced the appointment
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
Kaspersky securing the digital landscape by offering enhanced
Kaspersky is a thought leader in cybersecurity that identifies threats by p
MEASURE AND IMPROVE YOUR SECURITY POSTURE WITH KEYSIGHT
Is your security team prepared for the next cyber-attack? Are your security
HOT PICK
Canon India Introduces 4K Remote PTZ Camera Controller & 4K In
Canon India, a leading company in digital imaging solutions, further solidi
Dell Technologies launches the new consumer and gaming portfol
Dell Technologies has unveiled its newest line of AI-enabled consumer PCs
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
CP PLUS INDIA PVT. LTD.
FRESHWORKS TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD.
SAFE SECURITY SERVICES PVT. LTD.
STERLITE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Nikhil Rathi
Nikhil Rathi, Co-founder & CEO of Web Werks, a global leader in Data C...
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Kulmeet Bawa
Kulmeet Bawa resides as President & Managing Director, SAP Indian subc...
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Sunil Bharti Mittal
Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises,...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
C-DAC keeps India ahead in IT & Electronics R&D space
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is the premier R&...
PGCIL transforming India with its wide power transmission network
Engaged in power transmission, POWERGRID or PGCIL is a stated owned In...
EESL encouraging e-mobility adoption across India
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is a Super Energy Service Co...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Value-Added Distribution
EXCLUSIVE NETWORKS SALES INDIA PVT. LTD.
Exclusive Networks is a globally trusted cybersecurity specialist hel...
TEXONIC INSTRUMENTS
Texonic has carved a niche for itself in the Technology Distribution i...
TECH DATA, A TD SYNNEX COMPANY
Tech Data Corporation was an American multinational distribution compa...
ITFORUM 2024
WIITF 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
EMINENT CIO's OF INDIA
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
