2020 Supreme(SC) 489

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
ASHOK BHUSHAN, R. SUBHASH REDDY, M.R. SHAH, JJ.
Centre For Public Interest Litigation - Petitioners
Versus
Union of India - Respondents
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 546 of 2020
Decided on : 18-08-2020

IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Union of India is not obliged to prepare, notify and implement a fresh National Disaster Management Plan for COVID-19.
(2) PM CARES Fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organisations and does not get any Budgetary support. No Government money is credited in PM CARES Fund. PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust and is not a Government fund.
(3) Funds collected in PM CARES Fund are entirely different funds which are funds of a public charitable trust and there is no occasion for issuing any direction to transfer said funds to NDRF.

Headnote:

(A) Constitution of India – Article 32 – Disaster Management Act, 2005 – Sections 11, 12 and 46 – Public Interest Litigation – CORONA (Covid-19) Pandemic – Petitioner’s case is that grants/contributions by individuals and institutions should be credited into National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and NDRF should be utilized for meeting ongoing COVID-19 crisis – All contributions made by individuals and institutions in relation to COVID-19 are being credited into PM CARES Fund and not in NDRF, which is clear violation of Section 46 of Act, 2005 – National Plan and guidelines as contemplated by Statute for Disaster Management is by its very nature prior to occurrence of any disaster and as a measure of preparedness – It is not conceivable that a National Plan would be framed after disaster has occurred – A National Plan encompasses and contemplate all kinds of disasters – Disaster Management Act, 2005 contain ample powers and measures which can be taken by National Disaster Management Authority, National Executive Committee and Central Government to prepare further plans, guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs), which in respect to COVID-19 have been done from time to time – Petitioners are not right in their submissions that there is no sufficient plan to deal with COVID-19 pandemic – COVID-19 being a Biological and Public Health Emergency which has been specifically covered by National Plan, 2019, which is supplemented by various plans, guidelines and measures, there is no lack or dearth of plans and procedures to deal with COVID-19 – National Plan, 2019 have already been there in place supplemented by various orders and measures taken by competent authorities under Disaster Management Act, 2005 – Union of India is not obliged to prepare, notify and implement a fresh National Disaster Management Plan for COVID-19 – Union of India is not obliged to lay down minimum standards of relief under Section 12 of Act, 2005 for COVID-19 and guidelines issued under Section 12 providing for minimum standards of relief holds good for pandemic COVID-19 also. (Paras 35, 39, 40, 42 and 48)

(B) Disaster Management Act, 2005 – Section 46 – Constitution of India – Article 32 – PM CARES Fund – CORONA (Covid-19) Pandemic – After outbreak of pandemic COVID-19, need of having a dedicated national fund with objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or situation, like posed by COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to affected, a fund was created by constituting a trust with Prime Minister as an ex-officio Chairman of PM CARES Fund, with other ex-officio and nominated Trustees of Fund – PM CARES Fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organisations and does not get any Budgetary support – No Government money is credited in PM CARES Fund – PM CARES Fund is a public charitable trust and is not a Government fund – Mere fact that administration of Trust is vested in trustees, i.e., a group of people, will not itself take away public character of Trust – Contributions made by individuals and institutions in PM CARES Fund are to be released for public purpose to fulfill objective of trust – Trust does not receive any Budgetary support or any Government money – It is not open for petitioner to question wisdom of trustees to create PM CARES fund which was constituted with an objective to extend assistance in wake of public health emergency that is pandemic COVID-19 – At this need of hour no exception can be taken to constitution of a public charitable trust, namely, PM CARES Fund to have necessary financial resources to meet emergent situation. (Paras 59, 67, 68, 69 and 71)

(C) Disaster Management Act, 2005 – Section 46 – Constitution of India – Article 32 – CORONA (Covid-19) Pandemic – PIL – Propriety of PM CARES Fund – NDRF and PM CARES Fund are two entirely different funds with different object and purpose – Union of India can very well utilize NDRF for providing assistance in fight of COVID-19 pandemic by way of releasing fund on request of States as per new guidelines – Any contribution, grant of any individual or institution is not prohibited to be credited into NDRF and it is still open for any person or institution to make contribution to NDRF in terms of Section 46(1)(b) of Act, 2005 – Contribution by any person or by any institution in PM CARES Fund is voluntary and it is open for any person or institution to make contribution to PM CARES Fund – Funds collected in PM CARES Fund are entirely different funds which are funds of a public charitable trust and there is no occasion for issuing any direction to transfer said funds to NDRF – There is no statutory prohibition for Union of India utilizing NDRF for providing assistance in fight of COVID-19 in accordance with guidelines issued for administration of NDRF – There is no statutory prohibition in making any contribution by any person or institution in NDRF as per Section 46(1)(b) of Act, 2005 – Prayer of petitioner to direct all funds collected in PM CARES Fund till date to be transferred to NDRF refused. (Paras 72, 73 and 74)

Facts of the case:

Present writ petition filed as a public interest litigation has been filed in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, seeking direction to the Union of India to prepare, notify and implement a National Plan under Section 11 read with Section 10 of the Act, 2005 to deal with current pandemic (Covid-19) and to lay down minimum standards of relief under Section 12 of the Act, 2005 to be provided to persons affected with COVID-19. Petitioners have also sought for directions to utilize National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the purposes of providing assistance in the fight against COVID-19 and all the contributions/grants from individuals/institutions be credited in NDRF and not to PM CARES Fund and all funds collected in PM CARES Fund till date should be directed to be transferred to NDRF.

Findings of Court:

Guidelines which were issued for constitution and administration of NDRF and State’s SDRMF, the guidelines provided utilization of fund for limited calamities, which did not include any biological and public health emergency. Clause 3.1 of guidelines for administration of NDRF, did not provide for the calamities which cover the biological and public health emergency. Thus, under the guidelines which were in existence with effect from financial year 2015-16 neither NDRF nor SDRF covered biological and public health emergencies. It was only by notification dated 14.03.2020 that COVID-19 was treated as notified disaster for the purpose of providing assistance under SDRF. Obviously prior to this notification dated 14.03.2020 no contribution by any person or institution in the NDRF could have been made with respect to specified disaster, namely, biological and public health emergency like COVID-19, Outbreak of COVID-19 in India as well as other countries of the World required immediate enhancement in the infrastructure of medical health and creation of fund to contain COVID-19. At this need of the hour no exception can be taken to the constitution of a public charitable trust, namely, PM CARES Fund to have necessary financial resources to meet the emergent situation.

Result : Writ Petition dismissed.