After facing a stern directive from the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India (SBI) transferred the electoral bonds data to the Election Commission. This information is now public on the Commission's website. The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court will hear the electoral bond case tomorrow. The Election Commission of India has filed a plea before the court, seeking amendments to the directive issued by the SC on March 11. The plea specifically requests clarifications/modifications to the operative part of the March 11 order, though the exact amendments requested are yet to be disclosed.
The plea also seeks directions to release documents/data/information presented by the Election Commission to the SC on April 12, 2019, and November 2, 2023, in sealed envelopes/boxes, in accordance with the court's orders.
The data shared by the Election Commission on its website includes details of electoral bond purchases ranging from 1,000 to 10 million rupees made after April 12, 2019. Both companies and individuals made these purchases. Complying with the Supreme Court's order to make electoral bond information public, SBI presented details of the entities that had purchased the now-discontinued electoral bonds and which political parties had received them on Tuesday evening.
See the PDF for who purchased the electoral bonds
See the PDF for which party cashed the electoral bonds
The Supreme Court had given these instructions
SBI had appealed to the Supreme Court to extend the deadline for sharing data related to electoral bonds until June 30, but the Court rejected SBI's request and instructed to present all details to the Election Commission by March 12. Previously, the Supreme Court had declared the electoral bond scheme 'unconstitutional' and annulled it, also directing SBI to deposit all the details to the Election Commission by March 6. SBI had requested time until June 30. However, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed SBI's request and ordered to provide all the details to the Commission by March 12, and the Commission was ordered to upload the details on its website by 5 PM on March 15.
What are Electoral Bonds?
Introduced by the central government in 2017 and legally operational from January 29, 2018, the Electoral Bond Scheme was announced as a measure to clean up the funds used in political donations and enhance transparency. Electoral bonds, in various denominations ranging from one thousand to ten million rupees, can be issued from 29 specific SBI branches. These bonds can be purchased by anyone and donated to a political party of choice.
