Electoral bonds case: Supreme Court questions SBI over non-disclosure of bond numbers, issues notice

The Supreme Court on Friday took exception to the State Bank of India (SBI) for failing to provide electoral bonds data with unique alphanumeric numbers crucial for identification and issued a notice to the bank, seeking a response from the bank soon.

A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was hearing an application from the Election Commission (EC) seeking modifications to its March 11 order regarding the electoral bonds case.

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The bench directed its registrar (judicial) to oversee the scanning and digitisation of the data previously submitted by the EC in a sealed cover. This process was instructed to be completed preferably by 5 pm on Saturday, with the original documents to be returned to the EC afterwards.

“The judgment of the Constitution bench clarified that all details of electoral Bonds will be made available including date of purchase, name of purchaser, the denomination. It’s been submitted that SBI has not disclosed the Electoral bond numbers (alpha numeric numbers).” ordered the bench.

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Further, a notice was issued to the State Bank of India (SBI), with the directive for the Registry to issue the notice to SBI, returnable on Monday.

At the onset of the hearing, the Supreme Court asked, “Who is appearing for the State Bank of India? They have not disclosed the bond numbers. It has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested the court to send a notice to the bank since they might have something to say.

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The Election Commission informed the court that it didn’t keep any copies of these documents to maintain confidentiality. It asked for the return of the sealed envelopes so it could follow the court’s instruction to upload the data on its website.

On February 15, the Supreme Court invalidated the Electoral Bonds Scheme, which permitted anonymous funding to political parties, and instructed the State Bank of India (SBI) to cease issuing Electoral Bonds immediately.

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The court unanimously struck down the Electoral Bonds scheme, along with amendments to the Income Tax Act and the Representation of People Act, which had allowed for anonymous donations, instructing SBI to provide details on each Electoral Bond encashed by political parties, including the date of encashment and the denomination of the bond.

Electoral Bonds are promissory notes or bearer bonds that can be purchased by individuals, companies, firms, or associations provided they are citizens of India or incorporated/established in India. These bonds are specifically issued for contributing funds to political parties.