The appeal challenged a Allahabad High Court order which had dismissed a PIL challenging the legal validity of the PM CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance & Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund and the Prime Minister National Relief Fund in the backdrop of the Disaster Management Act.
It was contended that the Fund was established without without passing any legislation to that effect, and that it was kept beyond the scrutiny of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The PM CARES Fund weakens the Disaster Management Act, it was submitted.
The petition alleged that contributions from various ministries, agencies and departments of the government flow into the Fund without tax, almost on a regular basis.
The following interim reliefs were thus sought:
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Grant ex-parte ad interim order, direction or writ, directing the Respondent no. 1 to make full disclosure of the statement of accounts, activity and expenditure details of the PM-CARES Fund to this Hon’ble Court and to the public at large, desirably, by publishing the aforesaid details, upon the Government website for all to see, and the accounts to be updated regularly, from time to time; AND/OR
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Grant a further ad interim order, direction or writ, directing the audit of the PM-CARES Fund to be done by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and publish Audit-Report thereof (in the same way, as is done of other Government funds), from time to time, until the disposal of this writ petition, otherwise the entire nation and the petitioner shall be put to great hardships and irreparable loss.
Source: Barandbench
