New Delhi, 15 February: The Supreme Court has declared electoral bonds unconstitutional. A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said that State Bank of India should give information about donations received by all parties to the Election Commission by March 6. The Election Commission should publish this information on its website by March 13. Political parties should return the bonds which have not yet been encashed to the bank.
This is the unanimous decision of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had reserved the decision for November 2, 2023. During the hearing, the Supreme Court had said that the Election Commission should collect the data of funds from State Bank of India and political parties.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Election Commission why no data was filed after 2019 despite an order. The court had said that there are flaws in the current scheme. If the legislature wants, it can bring a plan with more transparency. The court had said that the job of balancing has to be done by the executive and not by the judiciary.
During the hearing, the Attorney General, on behalf of the Central Government, had said that this issue is not for judicial review nor is it a subject on which the court should issue guidelines. There should be a debate on this issue in the Parliament. The Attorney General had said in his affidavit that the electoral bond does not violate any existing right and the scheme itself provides privacy. It was said in the affidavit that the electoral bond is justified under Article 19)(2) of the Constitution. In this article the Central Government can impose some restrictions on the fundamental rights. Apart from the Chief Justice, the five-member Constitution Bench included Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra.
