In the recent development regarding the electoral bonds case, the Supreme Court dismissed an extension request filed by the State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday, March 11. The application sought additional time for SBI to comply with the court’s previous directives to disclose electoral bond details. Asserting that the necessary information was already available with the bank, the court instructed SBI to reveal the information by the close of business hours on March 12, 2024.
This decision follows a recent ruling by a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, which declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional less than a month ago. The bench had directed the issuing bank, namely the State Bank of India, to furnish details of electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019, to the Election Commission of India by March 6. However, shortly before the deadline, SBI filed an application seeking an extension until June 30, citing the complexity of decoding and compiling data from the sale of these bonds.
During the hearing on Monday, the Supreme Court expressed strong dissatisfaction with the State Bank of India’s failure to comply with its order to disclose electoral bond donor details to the Election Commission of India by March 6. Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing SBI, requested additional time to submit Electoral Bond details to the Election Commission of India.
The court questioned the actions taken by SBI in the last 26 days, emphasizing the simplicity of the disclosure required as per their judgment. Justice Sanjiv Khanna remarked sternly on the seriousness of the matter and reiterated the clarity of the court’s previous judgment. The Supreme Court clarified to SBI that its order merely called for straightforward disclosure and did not entail completing the matching procedure.
The five-judge panel presiding over the case included Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, and Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
On February 15, the Supreme Court declared the electoral bond scheme illegal and instructed SBI to provide the Election Commission with information on all electoral bond acquisitions made from April 12, 2019, by March 6. Additionally, the court mandated that this data be made available on the EC website by March 13.
SBI’s request for an extension on March 4 was met with skepticism, with the bank citing time-consuming procedures due to confidentiality rules. A contempt petition filed by ADR labeled SBI’s plea for extension as “mala fide” and accused the bank of intentionally delaying disclosure to protect donor identities ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.