New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) is reportedly ready with the details of the electoral bonds as directed by the Supreme Court on Monday.
The court had instructed the SBI to disclose the details of the electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI) by the end of Tuesday, March 12 and had subsequently asked the ECI to publish the details on its website.
The Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud-led bench has questioned the SBI over its delay for 26 days to publish the details. The court warned the SBI, the largest public sector lender in the country, of potential consequences for “wilful disobedience” if it failed to adhere to the directives and deadlines.
The five-judge constitution bench also dismissed the SBI’s plea for an extension until June 30 to reveal the details. Additionally, the court instructed the Election Commission to publish the information provided by the SBI on its official website by 5 pm on March 15.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), one of the petitioners opposing the electoral bonds scheme introduced by the Narendra Modi government in 2017, contested the State Bank of India’s request for an extension until June 30 to disclose the details.
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ADR accused the SBI of employing delay tactics to withhold the information until after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the State Bank of India (SBI), had explained to the court that the bank follows a standard operating procedure (SOP) by storing information about the electoral bonds scheme outside the core banking system.
He had cited this practice as the reason for needing additional time to comply with the court’s order. Salve emphasized the complexity of collating information while maintaining secrecy protocols.
In response to queries from Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Salve acknowledged the existence of donor details kept in sealed covers at an SBI branch in Mumbai.
However, he had also said that the bank possesses comprehensive information regarding bond purchasers, their funding sources, and the corresponding political party contributions. Salve underscored the meticulous crosschecking required to match purchaser names with bond numbers.
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