New Delhi : The Supreme Court of India on Monday rejected the State Bank of India’s request for an extension until June 30 to reveal the specifics of each electoral bond redeemed by political parties prior to the program’s termination last month.
A five-member Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, instructed SBI to furnish the necessary data by the end of business hours on March 12 (Tuesday). Additionally, the court directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publicly release the information provided to the court in accordance with the interim order on its website.
In a stern message to SBI, the court cautioned that failure to meet the deadline could result in contempt proceedings.
Representing SBI, advocate Harish Salve informed the court that there exists a standard operating procedure ensuring the absence of purchaser names in the bank’s core banking system and bond numbers.
The Electoral Bond Scheme was introduced with the aim of cleansing the system of political funding. It allows individuals and organizations to donate money to political parties anonymously through the purchase of electoral bonds from specified branches of State Bank of India (SBI). These bonds can then be redeemed by recognized political parties within a specified time frame.