The SC on Thursday directed the SBI to stop issuing electoral bonds and submit the details of all donations made under the scheme to the Election Commission of India by March 6.
The State Bank of India was directed by the Supreme Court on Thursday to stop issuing electoral bonds immediately and to provide the Election Commission with all details by March 6.
Within one week of receiving the information, the poll panel will disclose all donations to the public.
“SBI shall submit details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to Election Commission,” the top court said.
A five-judge bench of Chief Justice of Inda DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra delivered a unanimous verdict, striking down the Electoral Bonds scheme as 'unconstitutional'.
The bench was ruling on a batch of pleas challenging the legal validity of the Central government's Electoral Bonds Scheme, which permits political parties to receive anonymous funding.
The Chief Justice stated after the reading of his decision that the Supreme Court maintains that anonymous electoral bonds violate both Article 19(1)(a) and the right to information. The Supreme Court said that information about corporate contributors through Electoral Bonds must be disclosed as the donations by companies are purely for quid pro quo purposes.
The court held that amendments in the Companies Act permitting unlimited political contributions by companies is arbitrary and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court said infringement to the Right to Information is not justified to curb black money.
“State Bank of India shall submit the details of the political parties that have received contributions through electoral bonds since the interim order dated April 12, 2019, till date to the Election Commission of India. SBI must disclose details of each electoral bonds encashed by the political parties, which shall include the date of encashment and the denomination of the electoral bond…ECI shall publish these details on the website by March 13, 2024,” the CJI said.
The Supreme Court ordered banks immediately stop issuing Election Bonds and that the State Bank of India (SBI) provide information on the Election Bonds that political parties have cashed. According to the ruling of the court, SBI is required to send the information to the Election Commission of India, which will then post it online.
As part of initiatives to increase political fundraising transparency, the government announced the scheme on January 2, 2018, and it was positioned as an alternative to monetary contributions given to political parties.
Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and those that received at least 1% of the total votes cast in the most recent elections to the Lok Sabha or a state legislative assembly are eligible to receive electoral bonds, per the scheme's provisions.
(With inputs from ANI)
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