New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the State Bank of India’s (SBI) plea seeking more time to furnish the details of Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission and ordered the country’s biggest bank to submit the same by the business hours of March 12, Tuesday. The apex court also ordered the poll panel to put the information on its website by 5 pm, March 15.
On February 15, the bench had scrapped the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding. The judges had called it “unconstitutional”.
Electoral bonds violate people’s right to information and Article 14 of the Constitution guaranteeing equality. They also infringe on the principle of free and fair elections as stipulated in the constitution, the court had said.
On March 4, the SBI asked the top court to extend the time till June 30. The bank said retrieving the information will be a time-consuming job. The need to maintain anonymity has made it complicated.
The Congress has alleged that the BJP is using the bank as a shield. The party also alleged that the request for extension is a ruse to keep data under wraps till the Lok Sabha election.
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