Delhi High Court sets aside CIC order on PM CARES Fund

The Delhi High Court ruled against a Central Information Commission's (CIC) order regarding the disclosure of information related to the PM CARES Fund to RTI applicant Girish Mittal.

The court ruled in favour of a petition filed by the IT department against the CIC order which directed the department to provide tax exemption details of the fund, stating that PM Cares Fund was a third party.

Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that the CIC does not have jurisdiction to direct furnishing of information provided for in Section 138 of the IT Act. The single-bench court further noted that the information should have been sought directly from the PM Cares fund.

Mittal had filed an RTI application before the IT department, seeking details of tax exemption given to PM Cares Fund between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020.