In a significant development, the Supreme Court has rejected the State Bank of India’s (SBI) plea for an extension to disclose details regarding the electoral bonds scheme. Instead, the court has mandated the SBI to share these details with the Election Commission of India (ECI) by tomorrow, with the ECI directed to publish the information on its website by 5 pm on Friday. The court also issued a stern warning, stating that it would initiate contempt proceedings against the government-run bank if it fails to provide the required information by the specified deadline.
The decision came after the SBI sought additional time to disclose details of the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme. During the hearing, the Supreme Court posed tough questions to the SBI, questioning its actions over the past 26 days. The bank had approached the court seeking an extension until June 30 to disclose the details, following the court’s landmark verdict on February 15, which invalidated the electoral bonds scheme and directed the ECI to make donation details public by March 13.
The SBI’s request for more time faced opposition from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), one of the petitioners challenging the electoral bonds scheme. The ADR argued that the bank’s application was a last-minute attempt to prevent the details from being made public before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Representing the SBI, Senior Advocate Harish Salve explained that the bank had followed a standard operating procedure (SOP) to store information about the electoral bonds scheme outside the core banking system. He emphasized the need for additional time to comply with the court’s order, stating that the process involved reversing the entire procedure and collating information. However, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressed dissatisfaction with the bank’s progress, noting that the bank had not provided adequate information on the work done in the past 26 days.
The Chief Justice directed the SBI to comply with the court’s judgment without delay, emphasizing that the court had not instructed the bank to perform any matching exercises. Despite Salve’s assertion that the process would take three more months, the Chief Justice underscored the seriousness of the matter, particularly in light of a senior SBI official’s affidavit seeking modifications to the court’s judgment.
In its February 15 ruling, the Supreme Court declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, citing violations of citizens’ right to information.
