Electoral bonds: SC to hear on March 11 SBI plea seeking time to disclose donor details

SBI, in the petition filed before the court, highlighted the complexity of decoding the bonds and matching donors to their contributions. The bank cited the absence of a centralised database, with details of purchases made at branches not maintained in a single repository. According to SBI, the data related to the issuance and redemption of the bonds are recorded separately, adding to the intricacy of the process. SBI contended that the three-week timeframe provided since February 15, 2024, is insufficient to compile and verify the extensive data, which involves decoding, compiling, and comparing 44,434 data sets.

The SBI contended that retrieval of information from "each silo" and the procedure of matching the information of one silo to that of the other would be a time-consuming exercise. The application said due to stringent measures undertaken to ensure that the identity of the donors was kept anonymous, "decoding" the electoral bonds and matching the donors to the donations would be a complex process.

"It submitted that the data related to the issuance of the bond and the data related to the redemption of the bond was kept recorded in two different silos. No central database was maintained. This was done to ensure that donors’ anonymity would be protected," it said.

"It is submitted that donor details were kept in a sealed cover at the designated branches and all such sealed covers were deposited in the main branch of the applicant bank, which is located in Mumbai," it said.

Later, a separate petition was filed in the apex court seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the SBI for alleged disobedience of the apex court’s directives. The contempt plea, filed by NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms and Common Cause, claimed SBI’s application seeking extension of time has been deliberately filed at the last moment to ensure that details of donor and the amount of donations are not disclosed to the public before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

"It is submitted that the said application is mala fide and demonstrates a wilful and deliberate disobedience & defiance of the judgement passed by the constitution bench of this court. It is further a clear attempt to undermine the authority of this court," it said. "The petitioner herein is filing the instant petition seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against State Bank of India for wilfully and deliberately disobeying the order dated February 15 passed by this court wherein this court directed SBI to submit details of contribution made to the political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India by March 6," the contempt plea said.

It said as per clause 7 of the electoral bond scheme, information furnished by the buyer can be disclosed when demanded by a competent court. "As per clause 12 (4) of the scheme, electoral bonds have to be encashed within fifteen days failing which the amount of bonds not encashed are to be deposited by the bank to the PM relief Fund. Thus, it is inconceivable that SBI does not have the recorded information readily available within its data base," it said.

The plea said electoral bonds are "completely traceable" which is evident from the fact that SBI maintains a secret number-based record of donors who buy bonds and the political parties they donate to. The contempt plea said any form of anonymity in the finances of political parties goes against the essence of participatory democracy and people’s right to know enshrined under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

It said availability of information about electoral bonds will give voters a chance to truly inspect, express and decide their choices.