Supreme Court refuses to consider TMC MP's plea on CM Relief Fund

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider a plea by TMC MP Mahua Moitra questioning the Centre's decision to exclude the Chief Minister's and State Relief Funds within corporate social responsibility activities under Section 135 of the Companies Act.

A bench presided over by Justice Ashok Bhushan dismissed the plea for bringing the CM's Relief Fund at par with the PM Cares Fund.

The bench questioned the petitioner for filing a petition again when a similar matter was dismissed in May.

"This will not set a right precedent. You shouldn't have filed it again after you withdrew a similar petition in May," the bench told Moitra's counsel.

The counsel told the court that the petitioner has challenged the validity of subsequent notification of May 27.

The court, however, refused to consider the matter.

On May 5, the court had refused to entertain a plea by Moitra for allowing the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to receive donations under the corporate social responsibility funds, saying the issue should be raised before Parliament which was a proper forum for examining it.

The MP from West Bengal had then questioned the validity of a circular by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs excluding Chief Minister's Relief Fund from the ambit of corporate social responsibility funds.