Case Title: Centre for Public Interest Litigation V. Union of India
The Supreme Court rejected a petition that attempted to transfer money from PM CARES to the National Disaster Relief Fund.
The Court further determined that the minimal requirements of assistance established by the Disaster Management Act prior to COVID-19 were adequate and that there was no need for a new national disaster relief strategy for COVID-19.
The bench also underlined that people are allowed to give to NDRF and that the Centre would be free to move the funds as it sees fit.
A PIL brought by the Centre asking for guidance on creating a new national plan under Section 11 of the Disaster Management Act to address COVID-19 as well as the transfer of funds from PM CARES to NDRF was being heard by a bench made up of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy, and MR Shah.
The bench posed the following inquiries:-
Is the Union of India required to develop a National Plan in order to get ready for COVID-19?
Whether UOI is required under the National Disaster Management Act to provide a minimum standard of relief?
Whether making donations to PM CARES is prohibited in any way?
Whether or not the NDRF should receive credit for all donations?
Whether the NDRF will receive all PM CARES funds?
Following are the questions and the bench's responses:-
For COVID-19, the National Disaster Plan is adequate.
The basic requirements of relief established before COVID-19 are sufficient to address COVID-19.
According to the new rules, the Center may use the NDRF to aid the States in their efforts to combat the COVID-19 epidemic by distributing funds at their request.
As stated in Section 46(1)(b) of the Act, 2005, "Any contribution, grant of any individual or organisation is not banned to be credited into the NDRF and is still available for any person or institution to make a contribution to the NDRF." Any individual or organisation may make a voluntary gift to the PM CARES Fund, and both individuals and organisations are welcome to do so.
There is no reason to give any instruction to transfer the monies collected in the PM CARES Fund to the NDRF because they are wholly separate funds that belong to a public charitable trust.
The current national disaster plan is adequate to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Court stated that, "the National Disaster Management Authority released recommendations in 2008 even though it was well aware of the epidemics at the time. These rules are further explained in Plan 2019. In the 2019 Plan, every facet of epidemics, every action to contain an epidemic, and every component of readiness, response, and mitigation were carefully covered."
Based on their observations in Swaraj Abhiyan Vs. Union of India & Ors , Gaurav Kumar Bansal Vs. Union of India and Ors., and Mulla Gulam Ali & Safiabai D. Trust Vs. Deelip Kumar & Co., the Court determined that the petitioners' claims that there is no adequate plan in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic were unfounded. The court further noted that the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a disaster by the Government of India in an order, making it eligible for assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund. The court also noted that guidelines for ex-gratia payments to the families of the deceased, guidelines for COVID-19-positive individuals who need hospitalisation, and other guidelines for State Disaster Response Fund assistance were published.