The Delhi High Court on Wednesday has deferred its hearing till October 11 in a plea seeking declaration of the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) as ‘State’ under Article 12 of the Constitution.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice D.N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has the plea which seeks clarity on the legal status of the PM-CARES Fund, including whether it falls within the category of “State” under Article 12 of the Constitution.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioner, argued that PM Cares Fund is nothing but State, as it is being projected to the world at large as being a part of the Government of India. He submitted that such a high governmental functionary is not permitted to create a structure that is apparently exempt from the Constitution or outside the reach of the Constitution.
He drew the attention of the Bench to the “Deed of Trust” which was executed in March 2020 by the Prime Minister of India, thereby constituting the PM-CARES Fund. He stated that the Fund is of a “permanent character” and is established in public interest, which makes it a Governmental Fund.
“It is permanent in nature. It has a public purpose of the widest objective for the people of India. Settler is no one less than the Prime Minister of India… And the fact that you are using Prime Minister in your name, it becomes a Governmental Fund,” he added.
Referring to Clause 5.3 of the Trust Deed which states that there is no governmental control in the functioning of the Trust, Mr.Divan argued that ‘parties cannot contract out of the Constitution’. “Constitution is elastic and extends across India and to all functionaries,” he submitted.