ACTION PUNJAB NEWS Desk: Following the Supreme Court’s directives, the State Bank of India (SBI) filed a compliance affidavit on Wednesday in the electoral bonds case. This action came after the bank had provided all electoral bonds details to the Election Commission, as instructed by the apex court. The affidavit furnished comprehensive data on the procurement and redemption of electoral bonds up to February 15, 2024.
As per the data disclosed by SBI, a total of 3,346 electoral bonds were procured between April 1, 2019, and April 11 of the same year. Of these, 1,609 bonds were subsequently redeemed. Additionally, between April 12, 2019, and February 15, 2024, a total of 18,871 electoral bonds were purchased, with 20,421 bonds being redeemed during this period.
The electoral bonds data was provided to the Election Commission in a pen drive containing two password-protected PDF files, with the passwords enclosed in a separate envelope.
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The submission of electoral bonds details by SBI to the Election Commission came following the Supreme Court’s denial of its plea for an extension until June 30. The court questioned SBI about the steps taken in the past 26 days, emphasizing the importance of promptly furnishing the information to the Election Commission.
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The Supreme Court’s intervention in the matter came after its earlier ruling, declaring electoral bonds unconstitutional and violative of the right to information under Article 19(1)(a). The electoral bonds scheme, introduced by the Centre on January 2, 2018, was aimed at enhancing transparency in political funding by offering an alternative to cash donations to political parties. The inaugural sale of electoral bonds commenced in March 2018, with encashment allowed exclusively through authorised bank accounts held by eligible political parties.
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(Inputs from agencies)
