The Supreme Court wants the State Bank of India (SBI) to reveal all information about electoral bonds, which are used by people and companies to donate money to political parties. They want details like the unique number of each bond. This decision came from a group of five judges led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
During a hearing about incomplete information on electoral bond donations, Chief Justice Chandrachud insisted that the SBI must share all details they have. The court asked the SBI chairman to submit a statement by Thursday evening, confirming they haven’t hidden any information. They also told the Election Commission to publish this information online once they receive it from the SBI.
Last month, the Supreme Court canceled the electoral bond scheme and ordered the SBI to disclose all donation details from the past five years. They found the data provided earlier by the SBI incomplete and sent a notice about it.
Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the SBI shouldn’t decide what to reveal; they must share all possible information. He emphasized that they want full transparency and nothing to be hidden.
The SBI had been criticized earlier for not showing any connection between those who donated and those who received electoral bonds. The court ordered the SBI to share the unique numbers of the bonds.
However, the SBI’s lawyer, Harish Salve, explained that the alphanumeric code on the bonds is a security feature and doesn’t help track donors. He said the bank had to keep purchase and redemption data separate to maintain anonymity.