SC rejects plea against PM CARES Fund

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking quashing the decision to set up the PM CARES Fund, where people can contribute to money amid the outbreak of coronavirus to provide relief to those affected in the country. The apex court termed the plea, filed by advocate M.L. Sharma, "misconceived" and dismissed it.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde did not agree to submissions made by Sharma that this fund has been created without following schemes under Articles 266 and 267 (which deals with contingency and Consolidate Funds) of the Constitution.

The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the fund, and has three Ministers as ex-officio trustees - Defence, Home and Finance. The plea had made all the trustees of the fund as well as the Prime Minister parties to it and had sought a transfer of the donations received so far in the fund to the Consolidated Fund of India. The plea had also sought a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the setting of this Fund, which was set up on March 28.

The bench, which also comprised justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.M. Shantanagoudar, did not agree to the contention of the lawyer that the fund has been created without following the schemes enumerated under Articles 266 and 267 (which deal with the contingency and the Consolidated Funds of India) of the Constitution.