The State Bank of India (SBI) has asked for more time to provide information about electoral bonds to the Election Commission. This request follows a recent decision by the Supreme Court to cancel the electoral bonds scheme. This scheme previously allowed political parties to receive funding anonymously.
Supreme Court Verdict
The Supreme Court declared the electoral bonds scheme invalid. The court ordered SBI to reveal details of each electoral bond used by political parties to the Election Commission by March 6. This order came after the court’s ruling on April 12, 2019.
Supreme Court’s Decision
The Supreme Court found the electoral bonds scheme introduced in 2018 to be against the constitutional rights of freedom of speech, expression, and information. The court disagreed with the government’s claim that the scheme aimed to increase transparency and reduce illegal funding in politics.
SBI’s Challenge
SBI argued before the Supreme Court that gathering information from different sources and matching it was time-consuming. The bank said that ensuring the anonymity of donors made it difficult to link them to their contributions. Data about bond issuance and redemption were stored separately, with no central database. Donors’ details were sealed and kept at designated branches, then moved to the main branch in Mumbai.
In essence, the State Bank of India is asking for more time to compile and disclose information about electoral bonds, citing the complexity of the process due to the anonymity measures in place.
