Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court to Deliberate SBI’s Plea for Electoral Bond Disclosure Extension Amid Contempt Allegations
Legal Battle Unfolds: Supreme Court's Chief Justice Chandrachud Presides Over Hearing on SBI's Bid for Electoral Bond Disclosure Extension
New Delhi, 08-03-2024 : The Supreme Court is set to convene on March 11 to consider an application put forth by the State Bank of India (SBI), requesting an extension of time until June 30 for the disclosure of particulars regarding each electoral bond redeemed by political parties. This application will be heard by a five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. Additionally, the bench will address another petition seeking the initiation of contempt proceedings against the SBI. This petition alleges that the SBI deliberately flouted the Supreme Court’s directive to furnish details of political contributions made via electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.
The backdrop to these legal proceedings is a significant ruling delivered on February 15 by a five-judge constitution bench. This ruling invalidated the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme, deeming it unconstitutional. The court mandated the disclosure of donors, their contribution amounts, and the recipients to the Election Commission by March 13. Furthermore, the court ordered the immediate cessation of the electoral bonds scheme and instructed the SBI, the designated financial entity overseeing the scheme, to submit details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019, by March 6. The Election Commission was tasked with publishing this information on its official website by March 13.
However, on March 4, the SBI petitioned the Supreme Court for an extension until June 30 to disclose the details of electoral bonds redeemed by political parties. The SBI argued that retrieving information from various sources and cross-referencing data would be a time-intensive process, hence the need for an extended deadline.
#ElectoralBonds #SupremeCourt #SBI #TimeExtension #Disclosure #ConstitutionalBench #ContemptAllegations #LegalProceedings #PoliticalFunding #Transparency #JudicialReview #ElectionCommission
