The Supreme Court to hear two pleas related to electoral bonds today
The Supreme Court will hear two petitions today related to electoral bonds. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will take up the matters.
The State Bank of India (SBI) has filed a petition seeking an extension until June 30 to provide the Election Commission details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties. In February, the apex court scrapped the electoral bonds scheme and ordered SBI to submit these details to the EC by March 6.
However, on March 4, SBI approached the court again, citing the time-consuming nature of retrieving and decoding the data from various records to ensure donor anonymity.
The second petition seeks initiation of contempt proceedings against SBI for allegedly not complying with the February order of submitting the details to the EC by March 6.
The bench will consist of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, who will hear the matters at 10:30 a.m.
In its February verdict, the five-judge bench had termed the electoral bonds scheme “unconstitutional” and lacking transparency.
It had directed the EC to publish the donated amounts and donors’ names received by political parties. However, SBI has sought more time to provide these details, citing the complexities involved.
