SBI Submits Electoral Bonds Data To Election Commission Of India; A Day After Supreme Court's Wrath: Prof. Neelam Mahajan Singh Suryavanshi

SBI Submits Electoral Bonds Data To Election Commission Of India; A Day After Supreme Court's Wrath: By Prof. Neelam Mahajan Singh Suryavanshi 

The State Bank of India has submitted the Electoral Bonds data to the Election Commission of India today, after there was displeasure expressed by The Supreme Court. 

The Supreme Court, on 11th March 2024, had rejected SBI's plea, through their advocate Harish Salve, which was given no credence by the apex court.

The Election Commission of India has put the above message on its X-Twitter handle. The Supreme Court came down heavily on SBI for "willful disobedience" of their order and warned it of contempt proceedings. This was in line with Supreme Court's stern order to the national lender

Election Commission will publish the data on its website by March 15, 2024. The State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday submitted the data of Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI), complying with the Supreme Court's stern order issued on Monday, the poll panel said. The details of the sale and purchase of electoral bonds shared by the SBI are in a raw form that reveals who bought bonds worth how much and in favour of which political party. Thus all transactions have to be reflected on Election Commission of India website. 

The data shared by the State Bank of India is being uploaded in a phased manner, with plans to release it all together on the evening of March 15, 2024.

The Supreme Court of India's bench, headed by Chief Justice Dr. Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice B. R. Gavai, Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice J. B. Pardiwala heard the plea of Sr. Advocate Prashant Bhushan of ADR.

During 11th March, 2024 hearing, the State Bank of India argued that process of gathering, cross-verifying, and disclosing the data, stored in two separate "silos" for maintaining confidentiality on both ends, would be a time-consuming task. "We need a little more time to comply. We were told this is supposed to be a secret," SBI said, seeking time till June 30, 2024 to submit all the details. In response the Supreme Court said, that donor details were accessible at the SBI's Mumbai branch, and the bank only needed to "open covers, collate details, and provide information". We had not directed the bank to match the details of donors and donee with other information. The SBI has to just open the sealed cover, collate the details and give the information to the Election Commission," Chief Justice Chandrachud told the bank's counsel.

The introduction of electoral bonds aimed to replace cash donations to political parties, seeking to improve transparency in political funding. However, SBI had issued Electoral Bonds worth Rs. 16,518 crore in 30 tranches, since the inception of the scheme in 2018. The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgment on 15th February, 2024, held that the Electoral Bonds Scheme to be 'unconstitutional and it violates citizens' right to information'.

Neelam Mahajan Singh 

singhnofficial@gmail.com 

Sr. Journalist & Solicitor