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On Thursday, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO),told that the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Emergency Situation Relief Fund (PM CARES Fund) is not a 'public authority' under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
The order has come on May 29 in response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005, by one Harsha Kandukuri through Advocate Abhay Gupta on April 1, a student of LLM in Azim Premji University at Bengaluru, seeking copies of the trust deed of PM Cares Fund, and all Government orders, notifications and circulars relating to its creation and operation.
While Disposing the application on may 29
The Public Information Officer of PMO said that: "The PM CARES Fund is not a public entity under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act , 2005. However, the related information about the PM CARES Fund can be found on the pmcares.gov.in website."
Advocate Abhay Gupta also seeking following details of the PM Cares Fund;
Total amount deposited in the Fund account up to date and over the last two months, PAN details of opening the PM Cares account, and details of the individual who has deposited the highest amount up to date.
Section 2(h) of the RTI Act provides for "public authority" as:
"Public authority" means any authority or body or institution established or constituted by a self-government —
(A) By or under the Constitution;
(B) any other legislation drafted by Parliament;
(C) any other laws enacted by the Legislature of a State;
(D) by notification or order issued by the relevant Government.
Under the RTI Act, only information [as defined in Section 2(j)] which is held by or under the control of any public authority may be accessed by the general public through RTI. In turn, the rejection of the PM Cares Fund as a public agency excludes it from the application of the RTI Act and, as a result, no citizen can access information of the Fund through the RTI path.
A number of citizens, including judges and staff of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, have made a generous contribution to the PM Cares Fund for COVID-19 relief. Previously, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions calling into question the creation of the PM Cares Fund.
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