New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (January 14, 2026) orally observed that the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM Cares Fund), even if treated as a juristic or government-linked entity, does not lose its ‘right to privacy’ under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.A division bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia remarked that the mere fact that an entity may be a “state” or performs certain public functions does not automatically strip it of privacy protections recognised under the RTI framework, LiveLaw reported.The court was hearing an appeal challenging a single-judge bench decision that had set aside directions issued by the Central Information Commission (CIC) on April 27, 2022. The CIC had ordered in favour of applicant Girish Mittal, a Mumbai-based activist, that the Income Tax Department must provide information sought under the RTI Act on tax exemptions to PM Cares.Also read: PM CARES and the Paradox of Mandatory ContributionsMittal had sought copies of documents submitted by the fund for exemption, file notings approving the exemption, as well as details of other exemption applications processed by the tax department during Finacial Year 2019-20.The Income Tax Department challenged that CIC order before the Delhi High Court. A single judge of the High Court had allowed the department’s plea and set aside the CIC’s disclosure directions. The single-judge bench had held that the CIC lacked jurisdiction to direct such disclosure by the department. A coordinate bench of the high court had stayed the CIC order in July 2022.Mittal has now appealed against that single-judge ruling, while the CIC’s disclosure order has remained stayed since July 2022.During Tuesday’s hearing, Mittal’s counsel argued that Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which protects personal information, was meant to safeguard individual privacy. He said it could not be extended to a public charitable trust. The High Court bench, however, indicated that privacy, in some circumstances, was not confined to natural persons alone and could extend to juristic entities under the Act, Business Standard reported.The court referred to the legal framework governing the disclosure of taxpayer information, noting that Section 138 of the Income Tax Act limits sharing assessee information, The Quint reported.Also read: When Government Committee Said ‘No CSR’ for PM Relief Funds, Why the Sop for PM CARES?So far, since it was created in March 2020, the Prime Minister’s Office has refused to disclose several details of PM Cares, including the identity of donors, amounts contributed, detailed utilisation and expenditure records, beneficiary lists, internal file notings and minutes of meetings and documents relating to tax exemptions and assessments.The refusals have been justified on the grounds that the fund is not a “public authority” under the RTI Act and disclosure would invade donor privacy and that tax-related records are protected by confidentiality under the Income Tax Act. Limited information has been placed – sometimes by the donors – in the public domain voluntarily, but not through RTI disclosures.The high court’s latest observations suggest that even if PM Cares were to be treated as a public authority, questions of privacy under the RTI Act would still arise.The division bench will continue hearing the appeal on February 10. No disclosures of the PM Cares Fund tax exemptions will be made until a final hearing and decision by the court.