SC dismisses SBI plea, directs it to furnish Electoral Bond details by March 12

New Delhi: Dismissing State Bank of India’s (SBI) plea for more time for disclosure of the data on electoral bonds, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the bank to disclose details with Election Commission by March 12. The top court ordered the EC to compile the information and publish it on its website by March 15.

The five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also warned the SBI that failing to adhere to the order would constitute contempt of court. “Our judgment is dated February 15. We are on March 11. In past 26 days, what steps you have taken? Nothing is stated. It should have been disclosed. In the last 26 days, what steps have you taken? Your application is silent on that. We expect some candour from the State Bank of India,” CJI Chandrachud said.

The SBI had approached the court for an extension, allowing it to disclose the details by June 30. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the SBI, told the court that it will take three months more to share details as names have to be collated, cross-checked with the bond numbers, which were stored in separate information silos.

Critics had noted that this would imply that the information would only be made public after the Lok Sabha elections.

The Supreme Court, on February 15, directed the bank to issue details of the political parties that received electoral bonds from April 12, 2019, and submit them to the EC by March 6. The court had said that the electoral bonds could lead to quid pro quo arrangements between donors and political parties when it struck down the scheme as unconstitutional.

A day after the March 6 deadline lapsed, a non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms filed a contempt petition before the court. The contempt petition accused the SBI of “deliberate disobedience and defiance” of the court’s February 15 order. The petition challenged the bank’s request for an extension of the deadline, calling it “mala fide”.

The apex court’s February 15 judgment was in response to petitions by the ADRs and the civil society group Common Cause.

Electoral bonds were financial instruments available for purchase from SBI, which individuals or corporate entities could then give to a political party for redemption. The process was entirely anonymous, as purchasers were not obligated to disclose their acquisition of these interest-free bonds, and political parties were not required to disclose the origin of the funds. Only the total amount received through the electoral bonds was revealed to the Election Commission through the audited accounts statements. The scheme was introduced by the BJP-led central government in 2018.