Supreme Court scraps electoral bonds, calls them ‘unconstitutional’
The court has also asked the Election Commission to share all the information related to this on its website by March 31.
NEW DELHI- The Supreme Court has declared the electoral bond scheme illegal. Now no party will be able to take donations through this medium. Along with this, the court has asked State Bank of India to share the information of those who bought the bonds. Besides, the court has also asked the Election Commission to share all the information related to this on its website by March 31.
A bench of five judges headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has given this decision. This bench consists of Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra.
The court, while giving its verdict on February 15, said that electoral bonds are a violation of the right to information. The court said that not making public the information about donors is against the rules. This is a violation of fundamental rights.
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Well-known lawyer Prashant Bhushan has praised this decision of the Supreme Court. Prashant Bhushan said that this decision will strengthen the democratic process.
After the Supreme Court’s order to cancel the electoral bond scheme, reactions from political parties have also started coming.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said through a post on the social media platform X regarding the electoral bond scheme, ” another proof of Narendra Modi’s corrupt policies is in front of you. BJP had made electoral bonds a medium for taking bribe and commission. Today this matter has been proved .”
The Supreme Court said that there are other options besides electoral bonds to stop black money. Such purchases will only encourage black money. This will not put any stop and it also violates transparency.
CJI DY Chandrachud said that the court cannot turn a blind eye merely on the basis that there is a possibility of its misuse. The court is of the opinion that curbing black money is not the basis for electoral bonds. CJI said that it is not appropriate that the Right to Information should be violated to curb black money.
According to a report by Indian Express, between 2017 and 2022, State Bank of India has sold electoral bonds worth Rs 9 thousand 208 crore 23 lakh. Bharatiya Janata Party has received the maximum money in this. Express received this information through RTI from SBI in 2023. According to this report, BJP received 57 percent of the money from bonds sold from 2017 to 2022 and Congress received 10 percent.
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Association of Democratic Reforms i.e. ADR has a big role in getting this electoral bond closed. In the petitions that were filed against electoral bonds, it was said that it is a violation of the right to information. Along with this it was also said that corporate funding is against free and fair elections.
This case was pending in the Supreme Court for more than eight years and all eyes were on it because the outcome of this case can have a big impact on the Lok Sabha elections to be held in the year 2024.
