Following the Supreme Court’s directives, the State Bank of India (SBI) has provided detailed information regarding the purchase and redemption of electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The submission, made in response to the apex court’s orders, includes crucial details such as the names of bond purchasers, dates of purchase, denominations, as well as information on political parties redeeming the bonds.
A report by the Indian Express cited an affidavit submitted by the SBI chairman.
Based on that, the bank has meticulously documented the transactional data concerning electoral bonds, ensuring compliance with the court’s directives.
The information encompassed records of bond purchases and redemptions spanning from April 12, 2019, to February 15, 2024.
However, an oversight led to the inclusion of bonds purchased from April 1, 2019, in the data set, resulting in a total of 22,217 bonds being accounted for during this period.
This comprehensive dataset was handed over to the ECI in a password-protected format.
Despite the thorough submission, questions loom over the omission of the unique alphanumeric code associated with each electoral bond.
This code, plays a crucial role in mapping bond purchases to the political parties redeeming them.
The absence of this code raises concerns regarding transparency and accountability in electoral funding, as it inhibits the tracing of specific donations to their recipients.
The bank’s explanation, citing the complexity of matching donor and redemption details stored in separate silos, fails to assuage these concerns.
In response to the SBI’s submissions, the Supreme Court reiterated the importance of transparency and plain disclosure, emphasising that the ground for seeking an extension to disclose information does not align with the court’s directives.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud’s remarks underscored the necessity for straightforward compliance with the court’s orders, highlighting the significance of adhering to legal mandates in matters of electoral transparency.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India is set to embark on the task of compiling and publishing the electoral bonds data provided by the SBI.
This process, expected to be completed by March 15, will involve scrutinising the data to ensure its accuracy before making it publicly accessible on the commission’s website.