In a detailed affidavit submitted before the High Court, the Centre stated that the government, including the Central and State governments, have no direct or indirect control over the functioning of the fund.
“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 affidavit said.
Pertinently, it was also stated that the PM CARES Fund comprises of voluntary donations and does not receive any government support and does not accept contributions flowing out of budgetary sources of government or from the balance sheets of the public sector undertakings.
It further stated that PM CARES is not a “public authority” within the meaning of Section 2(h)(d) of the Right to Information Act and, therefore, provisions of RTI Act cannot be made applicable on the trust.
The affidavit was filed in response to a plea seeking declaration of the PM CARES Fund as ‘State’.
Source: Barandbench
