Unconstitutional': Highlights from Supreme court verdict on electoral bonds scheme

‘Unconstitutional’: Highlights from Supreme court verdict on electoral bonds scheme

The pleas were heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

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The SC directed that the issuing banks shall stop issuing the electoral bonds.

The Supreme Court on Thursday pronounced its judgement on petitions challenging the electoral bonds scheme, concluding that it is violative of Article 19(1)(a) and unconstitutional.

📌 The top court said that the government’s justification of tackling the black money issue through electoral bonds is not justified.

📌 The SC directed that the issuing banks shall stop issuing electoral bonds. 

It said that the State Bank of India shall submit details of bonds purchased since the apex court’s interim order of April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission and that the electoral body should share this information on its website.

📌 The Chief Justice of India, in his verdict, said that financial contributions to political parties are made for two parties, either for support to a political party, or contribution may be a way of quid pro quo.

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Electoral bonds are interest-free bearer instruments that are essentially used to donate money anonymously to political parties. The scheme was first announced in the 2017 Union Budget speech when Late Arun Jaitley was the Finance Minister.

The constitutional bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, reserved its verdict on the matter on November 2 last year.

The primary concern raised by transparency activists is that voters can no longer know which individual, company, or organisation has funded which party and to what extent. Earlier parties had to disclose details of all donors who have contributed more than Rs 20,000. The Centre, however, has pitched bonds as an alternative to cash donations and as a way to increase transparency and accountability in political funding.

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