SBI Shares Electoral Bonds Data With Poll Panel Day After SC Rejected Extension Plea

The State Bank of India on Tuesday submitted comprehensive data regarding electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India, as directed by the Supreme Court yesterday. In adherence to the court’s directive, the poll panel will now compile and release the data by 5 pm on Friday. The SBI’s Chairman and Managing Director, however, has yet to file the affidavit affirming compliance with the court’s order.

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the State Bank of India’s (SBI) plea for an extension to disclose details of the electoral bonds scheme, and ordered the bank to share all information with the Election Commission of India (ECI) by Tuesday. The court also warned of contempt proceedings against the government-run bank if it failed to comply with the directive by the specified deadline. The court also directed the bank to file an affidavit after compliance.

In a historic ruling on February 15, the court deemed the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, citing violations of citizens’ right to information, and instructed the Election Commission to ensure public disclosure of donation details by March 13.

Opposing SBI’s plea, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), one of the petitioners contesting the electoral bonds scheme, asserted that the last-minute application was a strategic move ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. The ADR had sought contempt action against the SBI for “willfully and deliberately” disobeying the court’s order.

Representing the SBI, senior advocate Harish Salve explained the bank’s procedural challenges in complying with the electoral bonds disclosure order, citing the need to reverse an established process stored outside the core banking system.

“We need a little more time to comply with the order. We are trying to collate the info and we are having to reverse the entire process. We as a bank were told that this is supposed to be a secret,” Salve said, per reports.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, leading the five-judge Constitution bench, acknowledged that donor details were kept sealed in a Mumbai branch, urging swift disclosure.

When told by Justice Sanjiv Khanna that the bank needs to just open the sealed cover, collate the details and give the information, Salve clarified the extent of available information, including purchaser names, stressing the need for crosschecking.