Electoral Bond Case: Supreme Court Reaches 'Unanimous' Verdict (Image-screengrab/supreme court of india)The Supreme Court has struck down the electoral bond scheme. Electoral bonds are violative to the Right to Information and Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression and need to be struck down as unconstitutional, the apex court said while delivering the judgement.
The apex court on Thursday delivered the verdict for electoral bond case. The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that they have arrived at an unanimous decision. “Information is essential for the right to vote,” the top court stated in the verdict. A five judge constitution bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra unanimously quashed the scheme as well as the amendments. The top court emphasized that voters have the right to essential information necessary for casting their votes.
Supreme Court has also directed the banks to stop issuing electoral bonds. The State Bank of India has been directed to submit the details of purchase of electoral bonds along with the details regarding their encashment by political parties to the Election Commission. It is directed to publish all the details on its website by March 31. The court further added that electoral bonds scheme cannot be justified by saying that it will help curb black money in politics.
The petitioners in this case include the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Dr Jaya Thakur.
The electoral bond scheme was notified on January 2, 2018. It is a financial instruments that individuals or cooperate entities can purchase from a bank and present to a political party which can subsequently redeem them for funds.
The bench had on November 2, 2023 reserved its judgement on the case concerning the legal validity of the scheme, after a three-day hearing. While reserving it verdict, the Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission to submit data up till September 30, 2023 regarding the electoral bond sold under the scheme.