The former Finance Secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg, stated that the State Bank of India (SBI) cannot identify which political parties received electoral bond donations. While SBI has information on who bought the bonds, when, and for how much, linking each bond to its recipient is deemed impossible.
Garg, who played a role in formulating the 2018 Electoral Bond Scheme, criticized SBI’s request to the Supreme Court for an additional three months to provide data, calling it a fabricated excuse.
The Supreme Court had invalidated the electoral bond scheme on February 15, instructing SBI to disclose donor and party details to the Election Commission (EC) by March 6. The EC was then expected to make this information public by March 13.
Garg clarified that SBI’s claim that they needed until June 30 to match donors with donations, citing physical storage, was not in line with the court’s request. According to Garg, the bank’s attempt to delay the process was an attempt to mislead the court.
Garg emphasized that the SC only asked SBI for information on bonds purchased, including dates and amounts, which is readily available in computer records. He pointed out that details about who deposited the bonds, the amount, and the date are also on the computer, as they were deposited in respective accounts.
The main issue lies in connecting specific donors to individual bonds, and Garg argued that SBI’s claim of needing more time for this task is an excuse without merit.