'Misconceived Petition' : SC Dismisses PIL Challenging PM CARES Fund

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation petition filed questioning the legality of the constitution of PM CARES Fund for COVID-19 relief.

""This is a completely misconceived petition"  Chief Justice of India SA Bobde told Advocate M L Sharma, the petitioner.

"We will impose cost on you", the bench added.

"How can PMCARES come into existence. Power is only with Parliament under Article 266 & 267 to create contingency fund", Sharma submitted.

The bench was not however inclined to entertain the petition.

The petitioner alleged that the constitution of the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situatons (PM CARES) Fund was illegal, as it was not created by a statutory enactment.

The petitioner sought for transfer of all donations received under PM CARES to the Consolidated Fund of India, apart from a Court-monitored SIT probe into its constitution.

The Supreme Court has reprimanded Sharma on previous occasions for filing frivolous cases. Last year, the Court pulled him up for filing a shoddy PIL in Article 370 matte