SC Rejects SBI's Plea For More Time To Release Electoral Bonds Data, Says Do It By Tomorrow

A five-judge Supreme Court bench on Monday heard State Bank Of India's (SBI) plea seeking extension of time till June 30 to give information to the Election Commission of India (ECI) about electoral bonds scheme that the top court scrapped in a landmark verdict on February 15. Rejecting the plea by SBI for more time to release Electoral Bonds info, the Supreme Court on Monday instructed the bank to disclose details by March 12.

While advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the State Bank of India (SBI), told the Supreme Court that the bank needs extra time to submit details of Electoral Bonds to the ECI, the top court said the bank has to just open sealed cover, collate details and give information to poll body.

"In the last 26 days, what steps have you taken? Your application is silent on that," the Supreme Court told the SBI on electoral bonds, adding that the court has just asked CBI to do plain disclosure as per its judgment.

The SBI is under fire for not submitting on time the details of contributions made to political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6. The SBI was directed by the Supreme Court to submit by March 6 the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to Election Commission (EC).

On February 15, a five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordering disclosure by the Election Commission of the donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients by March 13.

SBI-Electoral Bonds Row | All Key Updates

Electoral Bonds: SC Rejects SBI's Plea More Time To Disclose Info

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the State Bank of India's plea seeking extension of time to furnish the details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission and asked it to disclose the details by close of business hours on March 12.

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the details shared by the bank on its official website by 5 pm on March 15. During the hearing, the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, took note of the submissions of senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the SBI, that more time was needed for collating the details and matching them as the information were kept in two different silos with its branches.

ALSO READ | SBI Under Fire For Not Disclosing Electoral Bonds Data, Hearing In SC On March 11 | Know The Matter

He further said if the matching exercise is to be done away with, the SBI can complete the exercise within three weeks.

The bench said it had not directed the SBI to match the details of donors and donee with other information, adding that the bank "has to just open the sealed cover, collate the details and give the information to the Election Commission."

It also asked the bank about the steps taken by it for complying with the directions given by the apex court in its February 15 judgment. "In the last 26 days, what steps have you taken? Your application is silent on that," the bench said.

NGO Files Plea

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court by two NGOs, seeking contempt action against the SBI alleging it "wilfully and deliberately" disobeyed the apex court's direction to submit details of contributions made to political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.

The plea, filed by two NGOs, claimed SBI's application seeking extension of time till June 30 to disclose the details of electoral bonds encashed by political parties has been deliberately filed at the last moment to ensure that details of donor and the amount of donations are not disclosed to the public before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

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A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on Thursday, March 7, took note of the submissions by advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared on behalf of NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms and Common Cause, that he wanted initiation of contempt proceedings against the SBI.

In the contempt plea, the NGOs have said that two days before the expiry of the stated deadline, the SBI has filed an application seeking time till June 30 to comply with the directions.

"It is submitted that the said application is mala fide and demonstrates a wilful and deliberate disobedience & defiance of the judgement passed by the constitution bench of this court. It is further a clear attempt to undermine the authority of this court," it said.

Congress Hits Out At Centre Over Electoral Bonds

Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram last week said SBI to-be made disclosure on electoral bonds will make it 'very apparent' that those who contributed to the BJP did it for 'ulterior' purposes.

Karti Chidambaram said it was imperative that the SBI immediately complies with the Supreme Court ruling on electoral bonds to ensure transparency and for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to be fair.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh hit out at the government, saying, "Hide and seek in New India: Nation seeks, Modi hides!"

"The Pradhan Mantri Chanda Chipao Yojana, implemented by the SBI, is built on lies," he said on X.

Can SBI Match Electoral Bond Donors To Parties? Probably Not

Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on Thursday that the details such as who bought electoral bonds, when and for how much, and which parties deposited EBs, with the date and amount, was available to State Bank of India, however, matching each EB with its recipient is an "impossible" task.

Garg, who was Economic Affairs Secretary when the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, was being formulated by the department in 2017, said the SBI was trying to lead the Supreme Court into a “wild goose chase” as it has not asked the bank to match the donors to the donations but as asked it for details of bonds bought, the date and the amount, an Indian Express report mentioned.

“Even if one takes into account they may not have entered the denomination separately, the information of who bought, on what date, how much of the electoral bond is available on the computer. Similarly, who deposited, for how much of the EB amount, and on which date, that’s also available on the computers as that was deposited in their accounts. That’s all the SC has asked for…,” the report quoted Garg as saying.

ALSO READ | Electoral Bonds: Shaken And Stirred

“The donor name is available for the amount of EB purchased, what is not available is for which particular bond, who bought it. Since all bonds have come back to SBI, even if you get access to a bond, you can’t determine who had purchased this bond and who had deposited it. So what SBI is saying is that ‘we will need this much time to make this connection’, they will never be able to do it. It is a cooked up excuse,” he said.