In a recent judgment of the Supreme Court Order Miscellaneous Application No. 486 of 2024, it emphasized upon the transparency in political funding and highlighted the significance of disclosing the same to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.
The matter arose from Writ Petition (Civil) No. 800 of 2017 between the Associate of democratic reforms and the Union of India, the Election Commission of India (ECJ) filed an application seeking further directions from the supreme court of India.
The primary issue revolving around the case includes the disclosure of details of Electoral Bonds purchased and redeemed by political parties, including crucial information such as the date of purchase/redemption, purchaser’s name, and the denomination of the Electoral Bonds. The State Bank of India was required to furnish this information to the Electoral Commission of India.
The Constitution Bench in this case directed SBI to provide all necessary details of the Electoral Bonds, wherein the main principle drawn upon by the Court was transparency in Political funding, and the importance of disclosure of such data to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.
The court in para 7 of the judgment stated: “The judgment of the Constitution Bench in Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India required the State Bank of India to furnish to the ECI all details of the Electoral Bonds purchased, and, as the case may, redeemed by political parties, including the date of purchase/redemption, name of the purchaser and the
denomination of the Electoral Bond purchased. It has been submitted that SBI has not
disclosed the alpha-numeric numbers of the Electoral Bonds.”
The court in para 9 also emphasized for there to be a Senior Officer of SBI present: “We direct the Registry to issue notice to SBI, returnable on 18 March 2024. Additionally, we also direct the presence of a Senior Officer of SBI who is responsible for the management and storage of details of Bonds purchased and redeemed on the next date of hearing.”
CASE NAME:
Association of Democratic Reforms and Another v. Union of India and Others Writ Petition (Civil) No 880 of 2017 (2024 INSC 209)
NAME: Sreenishanka Vadiraj, 6th sem, BBA-LLB(Hons.)PES University, Bangalore, Intern under Legal Vidhiya.
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