Supreme Court Strikes Down Electoral Bonds Scheme — SBI Disclosure Ordered
Summary
A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme, 2018, as unconstitutional in February 2024, holding that anonymous political funding violates the voters' right to information under Article 19(1)(a). The Court ordered the State Bank of India to submit all bond purchase and encashment data to the Election Commission of India for public disclosure.
●The judgment is the most significant electoral reform ruling since the 2013 PUCL judgment that decriminalised note-NOTA and the 2003 ADR judgment mandating candidate disclosure.
Elections & Political System
Practise past questions on related topics in Arena.
The Electoral Bonds Scheme, 2018 allowed any Indian citizen or company to purchase bearer bonds from SBI in denominations up to ₹1 crore and donate them anonymously to registered political parties.
●The Supreme Court's five-judge bench unanimously held the scheme unconstitutional on 15 February 2024, ruling that anonymous electoral funding violates voters' right to know under Article 19(1)(a). SBI was directed to submit bond data to the ECI, which published the full donor-party match list in March 2024.
Anonymous political funding is constitutionally impermissible — voters' right to know trumps donor privacy in electoral finance.
Factual Pointers
Practice · 2 questions
Consider the following statements about the Electoral Bonds Scheme, 2018:
1. Bonds could be purchased by any Indian citizen or incorporated entity registered for at least three years.
2. The scheme was introduced through a Money Bill in Parliament.
3. Bonds were valid for 30 days from the date of purchase.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Supreme Court's judgment striking down the Electoral Bonds Scheme was based primarily on which constitutional provision?
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