SC raps SBI, again — this time for not disclosing unique alphanumeric number of each bond

A day after the first rap from the Supreme Court, state-owned State Bank of India, on Tuesday evening, finally submitted details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India. However, before complying with the order, the SBI first wanted to submit the electoral bonds details by June 30, which is after the elections.

However, on Friday, the SBI received yet another rap from the Apex Court. This time the SC took exception to the SBI for not being transparent and disclosing complete details of Electoral Bonds, including unique alphanumeric numbers, furnished to the Election Commission for uploading on the website.

A five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud issued a notice to the SBI seeking a response on why the issuing bank for electoral bonds has not disclosed the unique alphanumeric number of each bond. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that as per the Constitution bench judgment, given on February 15, the SBI was supposed to furnish and disclose all the details.

"If you see the judgment, we have specified that bond numbers have to be provided," said the Bench. "One thing. 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," said the CJI right at the outset of the hearing, quoted Live Law. The court also observed that the judgment of the Constitution Bench had clearly specified that all details of electoral bonds, i.e, date of purchase, name of purchaser, denomination and unique alpha numeric number should be made available.

The Supreme Court observation comes a day after the data was published on the Election Commission of India website. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the main petitioner, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). However, in its application, the poll panel said it had furnished to the Supreme Court a number of sealed envelopes that contained details on the electoral bonds encashed by the political parties, during the course of hearing on the matter. The poll panel said that it sought direction for the return of those sealed envelopes to comply with the directions to upload the details on the website.

Electoral Bonds details under the scanner

Missing alphanumeric details are not the only anomaly to have been pointed out in electoral bonds details. There are several other donors and details that have come for questioning by the opposition leaders and those on social media.

"There are so many dots that do not connect. Imagine companies like Reliance and those owned by Adani do not have a single electoral bond in their name, pointing out that proxy companies and shell accounts have been used by donors," said a political influencer.

Among the companies that have donated are Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, which is owned by Reliance Group. Among those making explosive allegations and public posts highlighting the finer details of electoral bonds has been Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. Quid pro quo donations, regular donations, money laundering through shell companies, and kickbacks received from the ruling political parties are some of the allegations made by the Congress leader.

It looks like the horrors of electoral bonds will continue to haunt the ruling BJP party for a long time to come. How it will counter the allegations remains to be seen and will unfold in the days to come. As the elections inch closer, other political parties also face the risk of being exposed through the electoral bond details. 

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