SC strikes down Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional
In a major blow to Modi Government, the Supreme Court of India Thursday struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional and on the grounds that it violates the citizens' right to information. Read More
New Delhi: In a major blow to Modi Government, the Supreme Court of India Thursday struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional and on the grounds that it violates the citizens' right to information.
The electoral bonds scheme, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, was unconstitutional and arbitrary, and may lead to a quid pro quo arrangement between political parties and donors.
"The electoral bonds scheme and the impugned provisions to the extent that they infringe upon the right to information of the voter by anonymising contribution through electoral bonds are violative of Article 19 (1)(a)," the CJI said while pronouncing the verdict.
SBI asked to disclose contributors' details
In its verdict months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, the Supreme Court also ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose to the Election Commission of India the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme, according to the news agency PTI.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed that the SBI must disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. The information should include the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds and be submitted to the poll panel by March 6.
The Election Commission should publish the information shared by SBI on its official website by March 13, the bench said.
The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, delivered two separate and unanimous verdicts on the pleas challenging the scheme.
'Geatest Thing'
The SC verdict has been hailed as the 'greatest thing' that could have happened.
"This will restore people's faith in democracy. This is the greatest thing that could have happened. This is the most historic judgement that we have got from the Supreme Court in the last five-seven years. It is a great boon for democracy," former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi told PTI Videos.
"Electoral Bonds declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Three cheers for the SC!" he added in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Advocate Varun Thakur, who represented Thakur in the case, described the verdict as a setback for the government "because from 2018 to 2024 whatever transactions which have taken place have to be made public".
"It is a setback because of the way anonymous contributions were received through the scheme. Now accountability will be fixed. It is a historical step for democracy and today, we can say democracy has won," Thakur added.
The electoral bonds scheme was introduced in 2018 with the stated objective of blocking black money from entering the political system. Soon after the scheme was implemented, a number of parties, including CPM, Congress and also non-profit Association for Democratic Reforms challenged it in court. They argued that the confidentiality clause came in the way of the citizen's right to information.
The petitioners also submitted before the Supreme Court that a huge, very huge part, of the funds donated under the Electoral Bonds Scheme goes to the ruling BJP.
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