Supreme Court to hear on Monday SBI’s plea for extension of time to disclose electoral bonds’ details

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 10

The Supreme Court will take up on Monday the State Bank of India’s (SBI) plea for extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties.

A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, which had on February 15 declared unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme, will also hear a plea filed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) seeking contempt action against the State Bank of India (SBI) for failing to disclose details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties by March 6 as directed by the top court.

The CPI(M) has also filed a contempt petition against the SBI accusing it of “wilful disobedience” for failing to comply with the top court’s directions to provide details of electoral bonds. The party alleged that the SBI deliberately misconstrued the Constitution Bench directions to claim practical difficulties in matching information of those who bought the electoral bonds and those who encashed it.

The matter is listed at 10:30 am on March 11 before the Constitution Bench, which also included Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra.

In a landmark verdict, the Constitution Bench had on February 15 declared unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme that allowed individuals and companies to make unlimited anonymous donations to political parties on the ground that it violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution which guaranteed right to freedom of speech and expression and included right to information within its ambit.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan had on Thursday mentioned the ADR’s plea before a Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud, which agreed to consider it after the petitioner completed the filing formalities.

Citing “certain practical difficulties”, the SBI had on March 4 moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond issued and encashed.

“It is therefore respectfully submitted that the timeline of three weeks fixed by the court in its judgment dated 15.02.2024 would not be sufficient for the entire exercise to be completed. Therefore, an extension of time may kindly be granted by this Hon’ble Court in order to enable the SBI to comply with the Judgment,” the SBI said in an application filed in the top court, days before announcement of 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

Acting on a PIL filed by ADR, the top court had ordered the SBI to stop issuing electoral bonds immediately and submit all details by March 6 to the Election Commission which shall make all donations public by March 13. 

All electoral bonds within the 15-day validity period shall be returned by political parties to the purchasers, it had said.

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