SC raps State Bank of India 2nd time in a week over Electoral Bonds
The Supreme Court of India Friday rapped the State Bank of India (SBI) for not disclosing the unique alphanumeric code printed on the Electoral Bonds that could be used to match each donation to the political party that received it. Read More
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India Friday rapped the State Bank of India (SBI) for not disclosing the unique alphanumeric code printed on the Electoral Bonds that could be used to match each donation to the political party that received it.
The SBI had in an affidavit on Tuesday March 12, 2024 submitted before the Supreme Court of India that complying the court order it had submitted all the data related to the Electoral Bonds Scheme to the Election Commission of India.
The SBI handed over the Electoral Bonds data to the ECI after the Apex Court rapped it for not complying its order pronounced on Feb 15, 2024.
The SBI was pulled up by the SC again on Friday when the court observed that India’s largest bank has not submitted the entire data, including the unique code number, as directed by the court.
The Supreme Court’s observation came while it was hearing a plea by the ECI seeking a return of the data on the bonds which was deposited with the Supreme Court registry.
“Who is appearing for the SBI? Because in our judgement, we had directed disclosure specifically of all details of the bond including the purchaser, the amount and the date of purchase. They have not disclosed the bond number. That has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India. Because if you see our judgement, all details have to be furnished by the State Bank of India,” the CJI said during the hearing.
Since the SBI counsel was not present during the hearing, the Supreme Court issued a notice and asked the bank to respond by Monday March 18, 2024.
ECI publishes Electoral Bonds details
The Election Commission of India meanwhile published on its website the Electoral Bonds data provided to it by the SBI.
The Electoral Bond data available on the ECI website shows the names of the companies that purchased the electoral bonds. However, in the absence of the unique code, it is difficult to reveal which political party redeemed these electoral bonds.
Yet the details relating to the Electoral Bonds so far available on the ECI website have revealed some shocking details of the donors.
One donor who is doing the rounds since yesterday evening when the ECI published the details on its website is the name of Santiago Martin, famously known as the 'Lottery King' who owns Future Gaming and Hotel Services.
The Electoral Bonds data on the ECI websites showed Martin's company bought electoral bonds worth over 1,350 crore rupees through two different sets of companies.
The data also reveals name of at least one company which has links with Pakistan and China.
The data also showed names of some companies that are running in loss but still purchased the electoral bonds worth crores.
Those reading the data also revealed a link between ED, IT and CBI raids with the Electoral Bonds Scheme. They pointed out the names of a number of companies that purchased the bonds soon after the raids.
Another interesting aspect of the bonds scheme revealed is that some companies purchasing the bonds were given government contracts and received favour.
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