1. State Bank of India (SBI) submits Electoral Bonds data to the Election Commission after a Supreme Court directive.
2. Data encompasses details of Electoral Bond sale, purchase, buyers, amounts, and beneficiary political parties.
3. Submission fulfills Supreme Court’s order aimed at enhancing transparency in political funding.
New Delhi, March 13: Following a stern order from the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India (SBI) has submitted the data on Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The submitted data includes details of the sale and purchase of electoral bonds, revealing buyers, amounts, and favored political parties.
SBI is releasing the data in phases, with plans to complete the upload by the evening of March 15.
The Supreme Court, rejecting SBI’s plea for an extension, demanded the disclosure by March 12, ordering the ECI to publish it on their website by March 15.
The court reprimanded SBI for “willful disobedience” and warned of contempt proceedings.
SBI had argued that compiling the data stored in separate “silos” would take time but was rebuked by the court.
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The court clarified that SBI only needed to collate and disclose the information, not verify donor details.
Electoral bonds were introduced to enhance transparency in political funding, with SBI issuing bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore since 2018.
In a recent landmark ruling, the Supreme Court deemed the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional, citing violations of citizens’ right to information.
