The Centre stated that the PM Cares Fund has been established as an independent public charitable trust and is not created by the Constitution of India, any law made by the Parliament, or any State Legislature.
By insisting that it is a “public charitable trust” not related to government, the Narendra Modi government has made it clear that it fears public scrutiny.
The Union government submitted before Delhi high court that PM CARES Fund is “not a fund of Government of India and the amount does not go in the Consolidated Fund of India”.
Why Does PM CARES Not Qualify as a Public Authority Under the RTI Act?
The Bombay high court has clarified that a public charitable trust is considered a public authority if it is owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI
Law25/Feb/2021
âA secret policy saves itself from some inconveniences I will not deny; but I believe, that in the long run it creates more than it avoids; and that of two governments, one of which should be conducted secretly and the other openly, the latter would possess a strength, a hardihood, and a reputation which would render it superior to all the dissimulations of the other.â