Synopsis: The Supreme Court ruled that no transfer of the PM Cares Funds to the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) is needed. The court gave such a judgement, while dismissing a PIL that demanded such a move.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected to direct the transfer of funds obtained from the PM CARES Fund to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to help in the fight against “COVID-19”.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan ruled that despite the fact that the NDRF is already in operation, the Centre can devise a Separate Fund. The bench held that the decision is only for the central government to take the decision as from which fund what financial measures are to be taken by them.
The ruling came on a petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL). Senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan, while arguing on behalf of the petitioner, said that PM CARES is not subject to an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). It is not under “public scrutiny” and however, contributions to it are “100% tax free”.
The CPIL had also sought a direction to prepare a “well-thought out national plan to deal with the pandemic”. According to them, the current plan, notified under the NDRF in 2019, is neither detailed nor encompassing the pandemic.
However, the government clarified that PM CARES was created for charitable contributions and was separated from the NDRF, which falls under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The court held that the government’s strategy under the NDRF was adequate to address the resulting COVID-19 pandemic, and a fresh action plan was not required.
On 28th March, the central government formed the PM CARES fund as a public charitable trust to deal with any emergency or distress condition, such as the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
The court rejected CPIL’s argument that the NDRF rules were amended to support the PM CARES Fund. It also called CPIL’s claim that new stipulations make it difficult as misconceived and incorrect, for a individual or organization to donate to the relief fund. The new guidelines had come into effect in 2015-16, the court recalled, while the COVID-19 pandemic is in 2020.
The court also held that funds received by the NDRF could be used for relief to COVID-19, any contribution/grant could be credited to the NDRF, and that it was open to anyone to voluntarily contribute to the NDRF.
The court was of the opinion that there was no statutory prohibition on any individual or organization making any contribution to the NDRF. It added that financial planning is in the central government’s jurisdiction, which is achieved after due consideration and deliberation. Therefore, it find no substance in the petitioner’s submission that there is any statutory prohibition in the use of NDRF for COVID-19.
In the context of the PM CARES Fund, the court said that in order to meet the trust’s mission, donations received by individuals and organizations must be disclosed for public purposes.
The court also held that the government’s plan for the NDRF was sufficient to tackle the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic, and a fresh action plan was not needed.