Electoral Bond row: Supreme Court rejects SBI's extension plea

Guwahati: The Supreme Court has rejected the plea made by the State Bank of India (SBI) for an extension until June 30, 2024, to disclose details of electoral bonds cashed by political parties.

The apex court rejecting the plea ordered SBI to furnish the information by the close of business on March 12 (Tuesday).

The Election Commission (EC) was also directed to publish the details received from SBI on its website by March 15.

The court's decision comes after a five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, dismissed SBI's plea.

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The Chief Justice pointed out that the bank's application indicated the information was readily available and that making the extension request was unnecessary.

SBI's lawyer, Harish Salve, argued that the bank was facing difficulties in collecting the information due to the previously confidential nature of electoral bonds.

However, Justice Sanjiv Khanna countered that the process simply involved opening sealed covers and collating the details, as instructed by the court in its earlier order.

The court further criticised SBI for not outlining the steps taken in the past 26 days to gather the information.

This action follows the Supreme Court's February 15 verdict declaring the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional.

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The court had then directed SBI to provide details of donors, donation amounts, and recipients to the EC by March 6th.

The EC was subsequently instructed to publish this information on its website by March 13.

Justice Chandrachud, while reading the order, highlighted that the electoral bond scheme itself mandated the disclosure of information upon request.

He pointed to Clause 7(4) of the scheme, which states that information provided by the buyer of an electoral bond is confidential only until a legal demand is made.