Supreme Court asks SBI to disclose 'all information related to electoral bonds'
New Delhi/IBNS: The Supreme Court on Monday reiterated its directive to the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose the complete information of the electoral bonds through which political parties used to get donations from individuals and companies.
The Supreme Court heard a petition claiming SBI had provided an "incomplete data" related to the electoral bonds.
The top court, which has struck down the electoral bond scheme, asked the nationalised bank to furnish all details including the serial number and file an affidavit by 5 pm on Thursday stating it has not suppressed any of the details.
"We want all information related to the electoral bonds to be disclosed which is in your possession," the court said as quoted by NDTV.
The Supreme Court last Friday rapped the SBI for not disclosing electoral bond numbers and directed the national bank to do it.
The top court, which was hearing a plea by the Election Commission of India (ECI), said data provided by the SBI was "incomplete".
In a landmark ruling last month, the Supreme Court declared the electoral bond scheme, which allowed individuals and businesses to donate funds to political parties anonymously, "unconstitutional", stating that it violated citizens' right to information.
The SBI on Tuesday provided the Electoral Bonds data to the ECI, as per the strict directive from the Supreme Court issued on Monday.
In a big move towards showing transparency regarding political funding, the ECI uploaded the data of the electoral bonds provided to it by the SBI on Thursday, a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court.