Electoral Bonds Case LIVE: SC Asks SBI to Disclose All Data, Including Alphanumeric Numbers

Electoral Bonds: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the State Bank of India to make a complete disclosure of all details related to electoral bonds, including the unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party. The top court said it wants all information related to the electoral bonds residing with the SBI to be disclosed by 5pm on Thursday, March 21.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said there is "no manner of doubt" that the SBI is required to disclose complete details of the bonds.

“There is no manner of doubt that SBI was required to disclose all details. This, we clarify, will include the alphanumeric numbers and the serial numbers, if any, of the bonds redeemed,” the SC said.

“We had asked SBI to disclose all details including the bond numbers,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said.

It directed the SBI chairman to file an affidavit before it by 5 pm on March 21 indicating that the bank has disclosed all the details.

The Supreme Court further said it would ask SBI to disclose the electoral bond numbers and file an affidavit stating that it has not suppressed any information.

During the hearing, the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that the SBI can't be selective and has to disclose all "conceivable" electoral bond details in its possession, including unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party.

The bench said the apex court had, in its verdict in the electoral bonds case, asked the bank to disclose all the details of the bonds and it should not wait for further orders on this aspect.

"We had asked all details to be disclosed by the SBI which includes electoral bond numbers as well. Let SBI not be selective in disclosure," the bench orally said during the hearing.

Last week, the top court issued a notice to the country's largest bank to explain the reasons for the non-disclosure of unique alphanumeric numbers in compliance with its directions, saying the SBI was "duty bound" to reveal them.

Senior advocate Harish Salve appearing for SBI told the top court that it will furnish the numbers of electoral bonds if they are needed to be provided.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Centre told the Supreme Court that the ultimate aim was to curb black money and that the apex court must be aware of how this judgment is being played outside the court. 

“Now the witch hunting has started on another level and not at the level of the central government. Those before the court started giving press interviews and deliberately embarrassing the court. A series of social media posts, at least intended to cause embarrassment, started,” the Solicitor General says.

When Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked the Supreme Court to consider issuing some direction in this regard, CJI DY Chandrachud said, “As judges, we are only on the rule of law and work as per the Constitution. Our court is only to work for the governance of the rule of law in this polity. As judges, we are also discussed in social media but our shoulders are broad enough to take this. We are only enforcing our directions of the judgment.”

On April 12, 2019, the apex court issued an interim order directing that the information about the donations received and donations which will be received must be submitted by political parties to the EC in a sealed cover.

In its landmark verdict on February 15, the top court had scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered disclosure by the EC of donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients by March 13.

(With inputs from PTI)