‘Will Disclose all Details in Time’: India's Election Commission on Electoral Bonds case

Election Commission will disclose all details on electoral bonds in time, India’s chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. Election Commission will disclose all details on electoral bonds in time, Rajiv Kumar was quoted by PTI as saying.

The poll panel chief's statement comes a day after the State Bank of India submitted all details of electoral bonds to the EC on Tuesday.

“In compliance of Hon’ble Supreme Court's directions to the SBI, contained in its order dated February 15 & March 11, 2024 (in the matter of WPC NO.880 of 2017), data on electoral bonds has been supplied by State Bank of India to Election Commission of India,” the Election Commission said.

The Supreme Court had asked the poll panel to publish details of electoral bonds on its website by 5 pm on March 15. The SBI has filed a compliance affidavit before the top court, mentioning the details of electoral bonds that were purchased and redeemed between April 12, 2019 and February 15 this year.

The SBI had submitted electoral bond details to the ECI day after its plea seeking an extension in deadline was rejected by a five-judge bench. “The SBI has to just open the sealed cover, collate the details and give the information to the EC,” the bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said.

“In the last 26 days, what steps have you taken? Your application is silent on that," the bench had asked SBI. In its February 15 judgement, the apex court had set the deadline for SBI as March 6. The apex court had said that by March 13, the ECI shall publish the details of Electoral Bonds on its official website.

The Supreme Court by its February verdict had struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme which allowed for anonymous funding to political parties, and ordered the SBI to stop issuing Electoral Bonds immediately.

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