On Monday, the Supreme Court of India delivered a warning to the chairman and managing director of the State Bank of India (SBI) regarding potential contempt proceedings. This warning came as the court rejected the SBI’s request for additional time to provide details of individuals and companies who purchased electoral bonds to fund political parties.
A five-judge Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, stated that the information being sought by the court is readily available to the bank and should be shared with the Election Commission of India (ECI) by the end of the following day.
The bench directed the SBI to file an affidavit from its chairman and managing director, confirming compliance with the court’s instructions. While the court did not exercise its contempt jurisdiction at that time, it put the SBI on notice that it may proceed against the bank if it fails to comply with the given timeline.
The Supreme Court had previously declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional on February 15. This scheme had allowed individuals and companies to make unlimited and anonymous donations to political parties. Along with this decision, the court had directed the SBI to submit details of contributions made through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.
In response to the court’s directive, the SBI moved the apex court on March 4, seeking an extension of the deadline until June 30. The bank argued that retrieving information from various sources and matching it would be a time-consuming process.
In addition to the SBI’s plea for an extension, a separate plea was filed seeking contempt action against the bank. The plea alleged that the SBI had “willfully and deliberately” disobeyed the Supreme Court’s earlier direction.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms and Common Cause, reacted to the Supreme Court’s order. He stated that the court had taken a tough stance on the SBI’s application for an extension of time and dismissed it. Bhushan emphasized that the data the court had requested was already available to the SBI, as indicated in their affidavit. He further highlighted that the SBI must submit the details of the donors and the parties that redeemed the electoral bonds.
Former Rajasthan chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot expressed his support for the court’s decision. Gehlot believed that the court had done the “right thing” by instructing the SBI to disclose the details of electoral bonds by the given deadline. He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would understand the gravity of the matter and deliver a verdict that would serve as a lesson to those who attempted to deceive the court.
Bank is bound to maintain secrecy about it’s customers.
Therefore Information should be under assurance to maintain secrecy by the court.