PM-CARES Fund: SC To Hear Petition Against Setting Up Of Fund On Monday

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a PIL seeking quashing of the central government’s decision to set up the PM-CARES Fund, where citizens have been donating money generously to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the PIL petition, filed by lawyer M L Sharma,  the amount received so far for the PM-CARES Fund should be transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India. It has also sought a Court-monitored SIT probe into the setting up of the fund.

A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices L Nageswara Rao and MM Shantanagoudar, will hear the PIL through video conferencing.

The petition claimed that the trust should have been created in accordance with Articles 267 and 266 (2) of the Constitution, which deal with the contingency and Consolidated Funds of India.

The Centre set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund on March 28 to deal with the coronavirus pandemic-like emergency situations.