Supreme Court scraps electoral bonds
In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court today struck down the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, holding that it violates the citizens’ right to information.
The electoral bonds scheme, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, was unconstitutional and arbitrary and may lead to a quid pro quo arrangement between political parties and donors.
The Constitution bench of five judges held that the stated objective of fighting black money and maintaining the confidentiality of donors cannot defend the scheme.
Electoral bonds, the court said, are not the only way to curb black money.
The Chief Justice of India said State Bank of India shall stop issue of these bonds at once and provide details of donations made through this mode to the Election Commission of India.
The poll body was asked to publish this information on its website by March 13.
The five-judge bench, also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, came up with a unanimous decision. “We have arrived at a unanimous decision. There are two opinions, one by myself and another by Justice Sanjiv Khanna. Both arrive at the same conclusion. There is a slight variance in the reasoning,” the Chief Justice of India said.
The electoral bonds scheme was introduced in 2018 with the stated objective of blocking black money from entering the political system.