SBI Submits Electoral Bond Data in Compliance with Supreme Court Order, Promoting Transparency in Political Funding

NEW DELHI: SBI submitted data on electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India on Tuesday night, following strict orders from the Supreme Court. The data will be compiled and published by 5pm on Friday in accordance with instructions by the election management bodies that have confirmed receipt of the data.
However, the bank’s chairman and managing director are yet to file an affidavit confirming compliance with the court order. According to CFDRA, it is ready and will be submitted on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request from the State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, to extend the March 6 deadline for releasing this data. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud slammed the “willful disobedience” of the order and threatened to initiate contempt proceedings.

“At this stage, we do not intend to exercise contempt jurisdiction, but if this court fails to comply with the instructions within the stipulated time limit, this court may take action against the company for willful disobedience.” “This order alerts the SBI to the fact that
The bank argued that it would take a significant amount of time to collect, collate and publish the data, which is kept in two “silos” to protect the confidentiality of both parties. “We need some more time to comply. We have heard that this is supposed to be confidential,” the bench said, seeking time till June 30.

This deadline extends far beyond his 2024 general election results. In response, the Supreme Court pointed out that donor details are available at SBI’s Mumbai branch and the bank only needs to “lift the lid, collect the details and share the information”. “We didn’t ask you to practice with us. We asked for clear disclosure,” the Chief Justice responded to the SBI.

Last month, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that declared the electoral bond system “unconstitutional” and violated the public’s right to information. SBI had been directed to release the data by March 6 and polling agencies had been directed to release this information by March 13.

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