The State Bank of India has submitted a detailed affidavit to the Supreme Court, confirming that all electoral bond-related data has been handed over to the Election Commission. The Bank has stated that they have left no stone unturned in providing all the details as required.
SBI Chairman Speaks Out
SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara stated before the Supreme Court that the Bank provided all relevant information related to the electoral bonds ahead of the deadline set for March 21, 5 PM. This includes the alphanumeric identifier of the bonds, their denominations, purchaser names, receiving party names, and the last four digits of the party's bank account number. Critical details such as the full bank account number of the political party and KYC details remain undisclosed for cybersecurity reasons.
Supreme Court Reprimands SBI
Previously, the State Bank of India was reprimanded by the Supreme Court for not releasing electoral bond data promptly. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud questioned the bank's understanding of the court's order. On Monday's hearing, Justice Chandrachud directed the lawyers representing the banks and companies to ensure that SBI complied with the order to release all data related to bonds by the evening of March 21, as per the Court's ruling. This data should be published on the Election Commission's website for easy public access.
Data Format Required by the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court suggested that State Bank release all data with unique codes for voter clarity. The bank should issue the data in two parts:
Part-1
should detail the dates of electoral bond purchases, purchaser names, unique codes of the bonds, and their denominations.
Part-2
should include the dates of encashment, encashing parties, bonds' unique codes, and denominations.
What is the Unique Code?
The electoral bond has been mired in controversy regarding its transparency. After much debate, the Ministry of Finance acknowledged in the Lok Sabha in December 2021 that
