Supreme Court to listen to SBI’s request for a deadline extension on disclosing information about electoral bonds on March 11

On March 11, the Supreme Court will review an application from the State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI requested an extension until June 30 to reveal the specifics of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud will lead a five-judge constitution bench, which will also address ADR’s contempt plea, accusing the SBI of intentional delay.

In its plea, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) criticized SBI’s application as “mala fide” and accused it of deliberate disobedience of the Constitution Bench’s judgment. ADR argued that SBI intentionally filed the application on March 4, 2024, at the last minute to prevent disclosing donor details before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The plea states that SBI has not shown progress or steps towards complying with the judgment. Chief Justice Chandrachud stated that the contempt plea will be considered alongside SBI’s application if it has been properly verified and numbered. Bhushan assured the court that he would fulfill the necessary formalities.

The Supreme Court invalidated the electoral bonds scheme last month, citing violations of constitutional rights. The court emphasized that preventing black money and protecting donor anonymity cannot justify electoral bonds or the lack of transparency in political funding.

 The apex court directed the State Bank of India to cease issuing electoral bonds immediately. It also mandated the submission of details regarding all bonds purchased since the court’s interim order of April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission by March 6.

Additionally, the court instructed the Election Commission to publish these details on its website by March 13, 2024.

The Supreme Court emphasized the necessity to reveal information regarding corporate contributors via Electoral Bonds, stating that corporate donations are primarily made with expectations of favors in return,” the bench remarked.

“The Election Commission is directed to share this information on its website. Unused Electoral bonds must be refunded,” the bench added.

Introduced in 2018, Electoral Bonds are interest-free bearer instruments used for anonymous donations to political parties. Issued by the State Bank of India (SBI), these bonds are available in denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore.

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