Electoral Bonds | Disclose all details by Thursday, SC tells SBI
A five-judge bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said the details must include unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party
The Supreme Court on Monday (March 18) ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to furnish all “conceivable” details of Electoral Bonds in its possession, while remarking that it cannot be selective in its submissions.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the details must include unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party.
The bench told SBI that, it in its verdict in the Electoral Bonds case, had asked the bank to disclose all the details of the bonds and it should not wait for further orders on this aspect.
"We had asked all details to be disclosed by the SBI which includes electoral bond numbers as well. Let SBI not be selective in disclosure," the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, orally said during the hearing.
File affidavit by March 21: SC tells SBI
The apex court also directed the bank’s chairman to file an affidavit by 5 pm on Thursday (March 21) in which it should be mentioned that no details have been supressed by SBI.
The apex court also asked the Election Commission to upload the details provided by SBI on its official website.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for SBI, told the apex court that the alphanumeric numbers of the electoral bonds would be provided to it.
Last week, the top court had issued a notice to the country's largest bank to explain the reasons for non-disclosure of unique alpha numeric numbers in compliance of its directions, saying the SBI was "duty bound" to reveal them.
On April 12, 2019, the apex court had issued an interim order directing that the information about the donations received and donations which will be received must be submitted by political parties to the EC in a sealed cover.
In its landmark verdict on February 15, the top court had scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered disclosure by the EC of donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients by March 13.