CJI Rejects Plea As Industry Groups Move Supreme Court Over Electoral Bond Disclosure

On Monday, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the release of unique identification numbers associated with electoral bonds. The CJI has rejected the petition, citing delay by the industries associations in approaching as the judgment has been passed.

The petition filed by the industrial bodies comes in response to the State Bank of India’s (SBI) compliance with a directive from the top court to disclose details related to electoral bonds, including the alpha-numeric numbers on March 15. However, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud reiterated the court’s stance, emphasising the judgement’s clear mandate for disclosing all relevant information regarding electoral bonds.

Represented by senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, FICCI and ASSOCHAM argue against the disclosure of electoral bond identification numbers, citing concerns about revealing which companies contributed to political parties. The industrial bodies claim that the purchases were made based on assurances of anonymity.

The petition addresses the Supreme Court’s direction to the SBI to divulge all available details concerning electoral bonds, including the alpha-numeric numbers linked to each bond.

CJI Chandrachud highlighted the court’s April 12, 2019, directive, which focused on collecting details related to electoral bonds from that point onward. “Everyone was put on notice at the time. This is why we did not ask [for] the disclosure of the bonds sold prior to this interim order. This was a conscious choice by this constitution bench,” added the CJI, as quoted in The Quint.

During the Supreme Court hearing, Rohatgi urged the court to defer the issuance of electoral bond identification numbers, stating, “I have filed an application. Kindly defer the issue of the grant of numbers.” However, the CJI clarified that no such application was currently under consideration.

What are alpha-numeric numbers related to electoral bonds?

Also known as electoral bond unique identification numbers, alpha-numeric numbers are essentially codes comprised of numbers and letters. Each electoral bond includes a code. These codes help connect the donor and the recipient with each other. The release of the alpha-numeric numbers will establish a better understanding of who bought the electoral bond and which political party received it.