The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, to divulge all documents linked to electoral bonds by March 21, including unique bond numbers that would reveal the relationship between the buyer and the receiving political party.
A five-judge Constitution panel led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud found “no manner of doubt” that the SBI was compelled to divulge all bond-related data by 5 p.m. on Thursday. The court directed the lender not to be “selective” in disseminating the data.
The new verdict came as the SBI faced more criticism from the Supreme Court for failing to disclose the unique serial numbers of electoral bonds, which are critical for tracing the movement of cash between contributors and political parties. In February, the Supreme Court declared the Centre’s electoral bond plan “unconstitutional”.
About the electoral bonds case
On March 15, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the SBI to explain why it did not disclose unique alphanumeric codes in accordance with its orders, stating that the bank was “duty bound” to do so.
This decision came four days after the Supreme Court denied SBI’s request for an extension of time to reveal all information on electoral bonds by June 30. The Supreme Court cited the SBI for “wilful disobedience” and ordered the bank to divulge the facts by the end of work hours on March 12.
The Election Commission posted the electoral bonds data given by SBI on its website. The data published highlighted the details of the purchase of electoral bonds by firms and individuals with values ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore starting April 12, 2019.
In a major decision on February 15, the Supreme Court struck down the Centre’s electoral bonds programme, which enabled anonymous political finance, and demanded the disclosure of contributors, the amount paid, and the beneficiaries.
