The State Bank of India has submitted a request to the Supreme Court, seeking an extension until June 30, 2024, to provide information related to electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India. The Supreme Court, through a judgment by a coinstitution bench on February 15, had mandated the SBI to furnish this information by March 6.
In its application for an extension, the SBI explained that during the period from April 12, 2019, to February 15, 2024, a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were issued for donations to various political parties.
These redeemed bonds were submitted to the Mumbai Main Branch by the Authorised Branches in sealed envelopes at the conclusion of each phase. The SBI pointed out the existence of two separate information silos, necessitating the decoding, compilation, and comparison of 44,434 sets of information.
3-week timeline ‘not adequate’
The bank emphasised that the three-week timeline set by the Supreme Court would not be adequate for completing the entire process.
The apex court had instructed SBI to provide information on donations made through electoral bonds, including details of the political parties that received the contributions. Additionally, the court mandated the bank to publish these details on its website by March 31, 2024.