In compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, the State Bank of India on Tuesday submitted details of electoral bonds. The bank has issued Electoral Bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore in 30 tranches since the inception of the scheme in 2018.
The President and Managing Director of the bank, however, has not yet filed the affidavit confirming the compliance of the court. According to reports, the affidavit has been prepared and will be submitted on Wednesday.
After receiving the information from the bank, the Election Commission of India has to release all the details by 5 pm on March 15.
In a race against time, the SBI’s plea in the Supreme Court seeking an extension till June 30, 2024 to disclose the details of electoral bonds raised by political parties was rejected on Monday.
As ordered by the apex court, SBI, which is the authorized financial institution under the scheme, has been directed to submit the details of all electoral bonds sold from 2019 to 2024 by the close of business hours on 12 March 2024.
The Electoral Bond scheme was introduced in The Finance Bill, 2017 during Union Budget 2017-18. It allowed individuals and corporate groups to donate unlimited amounts of money to any party anonymously. Electoral bonds, under the electoral bond scheme, were purchased by donors in fixed denominations from SBI and handed over to any party that could encash them.
What is the electoral bond dispute?
Last month on February 15, the Supreme Court of India rejected the electoral bond scheme declaring it unconstitutional and saying that anonymous electoral bonds violate the right to information and Article 19(1)(a).
Post this, the apex court has directed the issuing bank, SBI, to submit the details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the ECI by March 6, 2024.
The country’s largest lender then submitted a request asking for an extension of the deadline stating that due to the strict measures adopted by the bank to keep anonymous names of the donors, “decode” the electoral bonds and the compatibility of the donor to the donations made. would be a “complex process”.
The SC explained that it does not need to make such a match and it should send the details that are easily available with it.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra heard SBI’s extension petition along with contempt petitions filed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Common Cause, and the Communist Party of India. (Marxist) against the public sector bank for its non-disclosure of essential details related to the bonds, LiveLaw reported
“Our judgment was issued on February 15. Today, it is March 11. In the last 26 days, what is the extent of matching done by you? The affidavit is silent on this. We expect a degree of sincerity from the State Bank of India,” the court said.
The necessary details include the date of purchase, the name of the purchaser and the denomination of each voting bond. Additionally, details of bonds raised by parties, including the date of such raising, were also required.
CJI Chandrachud also warned that the court would be inclined to proceed against the bank for willfully disobeying its order in the event of non-compliance with the latest directions.