In a recent development, the Election Commission has received the State Bank of India’s (SBI) meticulous submission of the detailed information pertaining to the buyers and beneficiaries of the now-canceled electoral bonds. This action complies with the Supreme Court’s order for openness. The Election Commission had been ordered by the Supreme Court to learn the details of these electoral bonds by the end of business on March 12th.
By late afternoon on March 15, the Election Commission will post these facts on its website in compliance with the court’s ruling.
The Election Commission announced, “Adhering to the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s mandate issued to SBI, as per the orders dated February 15 and March 11, 2024, in the case of WPC NO.880 of 2017, we have today received the electoral bonds data from the State Bank of India, on this day, March 12, 2024.”
Insiders attest that SBI complied with the Supreme Court’s directive and provided the Election Commission with the information pertaining to the electoral bonds.
SBI has issued electoral bonds totaling an astounding Rs 16,518 crore in 30 different issuances since the scheme’s launch in 2018.
But on February 15, the Supreme Court declared the government’s electoral bonds programme, which allowed for anonymous political contributions, to be “unconstitutional,” in a landmark ruling. The Election Commission was also ordered by the court to reveal the names of contributors, the amounts they gave, and the recipients.
The Supreme Court rejected SBI’s appeal for an extension till June 30 to provide these facts, ordering the bank to give the Election Commission all relevant data by Tuesday at the latest.
In a commentary, former finance secretary S C Garg criticised SBI’s delay tactics, calling it ludicrous that the bank attempted to match each voter bond buyer with the appropriate political party—a measure that the Supreme Court had not mandated.
Garg emphasised that these bonds were devoid of any unique identification number, and that SBI was unable to trace any particular electoral bond back to the buyer or depositor due to the processes involved in the bond’s purchase and deposit.
The electoral bonds programme, which was unveiled on January 2, 2018, was hailed as a more transparent and ethical substitute for cash contributions made to political parties.
These election bonds were first offered for sale in March 2018.
These bonds could only be redeemed by a political party that qualified by using an approved bank account, and SBI was the only bank approved to issue them.
These electoral bonds could only be cashed by an eligible political party, and only then, via a bank account maintained with the approved bank.
Election bonds were available for purchase to Indian nationals or organisations that were incorporated in the country.
Donations through electoral bonds were available to political parties that had received at least 1% of the votes in the previous Lok Sabha or state legislative assembly elections.
