Can't monitor CM Relief Fund disbursement but hope there's no deviation from its purpose: HC
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne, in the order on July 31, noted transactions of the fund can always be accessed by members of the public by seeking information under the Right to Information Act.
"We cannot monitor the operation of the CMRF. We, however, hope and trust that the contributions made to the CMRF are utilised strictly for the objectives and purpose for which the fund is operated and that there is no deviation in any case," the court said.
You Can Also Check:
Mumbai AQI
|
Weather in Mumbai
|
Bank Holidays in Mumbai
|
Public Holidays in Mumbai
The HC disposed of a public interest litigation filed by city-based NGO 'Public Concern for Governance Trust', claiming the Chief Minister's Relief Fund was being used for purposes other than what it was established for.
The plea said the CMRF should be used solely and exclusively to assist victims of natural calamities, disasters and upheavals, as was envisaged at the time of its formation.
The government opposed the plea, saying that while initially the CMRF was set up to assist victims of natural calamities and disasters, its aims and objectives were expanded in November 2001.
This was done in view of the increasing demands for victims of incidents other than natural calamities.
The petition also sought the HC to form a committee to manage disbursement of money from the CMRF and also for an audit to be conducted.
It alleged that the CMRF is being used by successive chief ministers for other reasons such as construction of cultural halls, sponsoring teams for tournaments, granting personal loans to political, social and cultural bodies and so on.
The government said providing assistance for promotion of cultural and sporting activities was one of the objectives of the CMRF.
The CMRF was being operated in a transparent manner and information related to its transactions could be obtained through the Right to Information Act, the government added.
The high court in its order said it was a matter of policy decision of the state government to sanction and widen the CMRF's objectives.
The petitioner cannot insist that the CMRF must be operated for the original purpose alone and there is no legal prohibition on widening of the objective of the CMRF, the judges said.
The HC also refused to accept the petitioner's allegation of non-maintenance of CMRF's transparency and said the accounts of the trust are audited and income tax returns are filed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
HC asks Haryana to detail experience of young HCS officer posted as HSSC secy
Chandigarh: The appointment of Chinmai Garg, a young Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officer of the 2023 batch, as secretary of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) has come under the scanner of the Punjab and Haryana high court. The court had earlier asked the state govt to appoint an experienced person to the post. The court granted two weeks to the counsel of the Haryana govt to get instructions about the experience of the new incumbent, with respect to conducting exams like the controller of examination (CoE) of any state university. Justice Harkesh Manuja passed these orders while hearing a contempt petition filed by one Dhana Ram. During the hearing on Aug 4, the state counsel referred to an office order dated Aug 3, issued by the secretary, Haryana, whereby Garg was posted as secretary, HSSC, as well as controller of examination, HSSC. The court observed that the order dated May 31, 2024, passed by the court, showed that a direction was issued to the chief secretary, Haryana, to take steps to appoint a suitable candidate as secretary of the HSSC, who was experienced in conducting exams as the controller of examination of a state university. The relevant portion of the May order read: "Keeping in view our finding relating to conducting of examination without declaring the result of CET finally by the commission, we direct the chief secretary, Haryana, to take steps to appoint a suitable candidate having experience of conducting examinations as secretary of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission like the controller of examination of any state universities. " The next hearing is scheduled for Aug 20.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
New clause could leave BCCI out of RTI ambit
New Delhi: A proposed amendment to the newly-introduced National Sports Governance Bill 2025 being circulated among Members of Parliament could put the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) outside the purview of the Right to Information Act since it doesn't receive grants or financial assistance from the central or state governments. BCCI will have to be registered as a National Sports Federation and follow the provisions of the Bill. (Hindustan Times via Getty Images) The bill, which seeks to bring in reforms in governance of Indian sports bodies, was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 23 by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and is yet to be taken up for discussion in the House, amid a continuing stand-off over the Opposition's demand over a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The clause 15 (2) of the bill states, 'A recognised sports organisation shall be considered as a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 with respect to the exercise of its functions, duties and powers under this Act.' A new clause that is being inserted into the bill clarifies what constitutes a public authority. 'A recognised sports organisation, receiving grants or any other financial assistance from the Central Government under sub-section (1) or from a State Government, shall be considered as a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005, with respect to utilisation of such grants or any other financial assistance.' HT has seen a copy of the bill. Under the RTI Act, a public authority is a body 'established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the Central Government or the Union Territory administration, the Central Government; or by the State Government.' According to people aware of the development, 'The amendment was done just to bring the bill in line with the RTI Act, 2005. BCCI might not take financial grants from the government but they do take government assistance such as infrastructure, subsidised land, state facilities, etc.' The cash rich BCCI has long resisted being brought under the RTI Act. The powerful sports body never required government recognition as a National Sports Federation as BCCI manages its own finances. However, with cricket is now an Olympic sport as part of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games and the Bill is seen as part of preparatyions for making a bid to host the 2036 Games. In 2018, Chief Information Commission (CIC) held the BCCI as the public authority under RTI Act, and put in place a system of online and offline mechanisms to receive applications for information under RTI Act. The Ministry of Youth And Sports Affairs was directed to take necessary steps to ensure implementation of this order. However, BCCI filed a writ petition in the Madras high court which granted a stay order. BCCI will still have to be registered as a National Sports Federation and follow the provisions of the Bill. If the Bill becomes law, it will be the first time that BCCI will become a designated 'NSF.' BCCI will have to seek recognition from the National Sports Board (NSB) and refer its legal cases to the National Sports Tribunal, both proposed in the sports Bill. According to the Bill, the National Sports Board shall have the power to grant recognition to any sports organisation as 'National Sports Body.' The NSB can suspend or cancel recognition of the sports body or its affiliate units if the provisions of the act are violated or in case it 'failed to hold elections for its Executive Committee or has committed' or there were 'gross irregularities in the election procedures.' It can also act if the federation 'failed to publish annual audited accounts or misused, misapplied or misappropriated public funds.' The NSB shall consult the respective global governing body before taking any such decision, stated the Bill. There is another proposed amendment that states a person shall not be qualified to contest for election in a federation or seek nomination to the posts of the president, secretary general or treasurer unless previously served as a member for 'at least one full term in the executive committee of the national sports body or as the president, or the secretary general or the treasurer in its affiliate unit.' In the original Bill, the duration a person needed to serve for the top three posts was two full terms as member of the executive committee. This restrictive clause, however, doesn't apply for the Sportsperson of Outstanding Merit (SOM), according to the proposed amendment.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Considerable interference by executive in appointment process of judges: Ex-SC judge
New Delhi, Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur on Wednesday said there had been a considerable interference by the executive in the appointment process of judges. Considerable interference by executive in appointment process of judges: Ex-SC judge He was speaking at an event organised by The Global Jurists on the topic 'Morality in Judiciary, A Paradigm or a Paradox'. "Now, about the appointment of judges. We have had a lot of problems in the recent past. There has been, I think, a considerable interference by the executive in the appointment process," he said. "The Memorandum of Procedure was finalised a long time back. But despite the MOP, which was, by the way, drafted in consultation with the Government of India, there have been all kinds of problems in its implementation," Justice Lokur added. In the appointment of judges, the former the former apex court judge said, "I believe, for reasons, that it has nothing to do with his merit. But it has something to do with a few cases that they decided," . He said that if the appointment process of judges was in the hands of the executive, "a kind of mischief" could be played. "You can appoint some person in the beginning, and a senior person can be kept pending for about six months or seven months so that he loses or he or she loses the seniority, and this is what is happening. Outstanding advocates who should have been appointed are not being appointed," Justice Lokur said. He said the process of making the appointment process less opaque needed to be deliberated upon. "Opaque not only from the side of the collegium of the high court or the collegium of the Supreme Court, but also from the side of the government," Justice Lokur said. He said that at present there were two impeachment motions pending against judges, one against Justice Yashwant Varma in the Parliament and the second against Justice Shekhar Yadav with the Rajya Sabha Chairperson. "I think for the first time in the history of the country, two impeachment motions are pending. I think we have to be very careful about the kind of persons that we appoint, and second, to keep a check on the judges while they are on the bench to make sure that these kinds of incidents do not happen," Justice Lokur said. Underlining the importance of delivering easily understandable judgments, he said, "I had to deal with a couple of judgments written by a particular judge. The English that he used, nobody could understand. The judges could not understand it. The lawyers could not understand it. So you know, this kind of quality is being demonstrated now." Regarding the transfer of judges, he said, "On the other hand, we have situations where judges are being transferred left and right without any reason. Delhi has had the experience in the recent past of Justice S Muralidhar everybody knows that this was during the riots in 2020, for passing an order which, for some reason, the government did not like." Justice Lokur, on post-retirement appointment of judges, said, "Now we have had a situation where a former Chief Justice of India has been apparently rewarded by a seat in the Rajya Sabha. We have another judge who has been rewarded with the governorship of one state. The third judge has also been awarded the governorship of another state." "We have had judges who have retired and joined politics immediately after. We had a sitting judge who resigned and joined politics, and actually got elected as a member of Parliament. We need to sort things out," he added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
