In a significant development, the Supreme Court issued a directive on Thursday instructing the State Bank of India (SBI) to cease the issuance of electoral bonds immediately. Furthermore, the court mandated that the SBI must provide all relevant details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission by March 6.
Electoral bonds, essentially financial instruments functioning as promissory notes or bearer bonds, are utilized for making contributions to political parties by individuals or companies in India. Notably, the SBI is the exclusive bank authorized for both issuing and encashing these bonds. Last year, in response to an RTI request, the SBI revealed that 55.9% of printed electoral bonds, amounting to ₹15,956.3096 crore, were sold in 29 tranches since the inception of the Electoral Bond Scheme in 2018.
The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, declared the electoral bond scheme as 'unconstitutional.' The unanimous verdict by a five-judge Constitution bench came in response to a batch of pleas challenging the legal validity of the central government's electoral bond scheme.
