Pinnacle court to listen to Public Interest Litigation challenging electoral bond scheme
05-04-2022
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to listen to a PIL challenging laws permitting funding of political parties through the electoral bond scheme.
A bench comprising justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for PIL petitioner NGO, 'Association for Democratic Reforms', that the difficulty was “critical” and needed an urgent hearing.
“It has been reported today morning that a Calcutta-based company paid Rs 40 crores through electoral bonds to make sure that there was no excise raid thereon. This distorts democracy,” Bhushan said, adding the plea has been mentioned earlier also for urgent listing.
Assuring an early listing, the CJI said, “If it absolutely was not for Covid ...then i might have heard all of this."
Earlier, Bhushan had sought an urgent listing of the PIL from the apex court on October 4 last year seeking a direction to the Centre to not open to any extent further window purchasable of electoral bonds during the pendency of a case per funding of political parties and alleged lack of transparency in their accounts.
The NGO, which had filed the PIL in 2017 on the alleged issue of corruption and subversion of democracy through illicit and foreign funding of political parties and lack of transparency within the accounts of all political parties, had filed an interim application in March this year before the assembly polls in province and Assam seeking that window available of electoral bonds be not reopened.
The NGO, in its application filed within the pending petition, had claimed that there's a significant apprehension that from now on sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming Assembly elections, including in province and Assam, would further “increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies”.
It had alleged that as per data on electoral bonds declared by political parties in their audit reports for 2017-18 and 2018-19, the “ruling party had received quite 60 per cent of total electoral bonds issued till date.”
The application had claimed that up to now over Rs 6,500 crore worth of electoral bonds are sold with the bulk of donations visiting the ruling party.
On January 20 last year, the apex court had refused to grant interim stay the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme and sought responses of the Centre and also the commission on an interim application by the NGO seeking continue the scheme.
The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018.
As per provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds could also be purchased by someone, who may be a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. a private can purchase electoral bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and which secured not but 1 percent of votes polled within the last election to the House of the People or the assembly of the State, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.
As per the notification, electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible organisation only through a checking account with an authorised bank.
It said the electoral bonds scheme has opened “floodgates to unlimited corporate donations” to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian likewise as foreign companies which might have serious repercussions on Indian democracy.
It said the committee and also the bank of India had in 2017 “objected to electoral bonds and had advised against issuance of electoral bonds as a mode for donation to political parties.”
It alleged that nearly 99 per cent of electoral bonds purchased are of import one crore and 10 lakh denominations which shows that it's not individual citizens but large corporations which are purchasing these bonds with a view to receive kickbacks from the govt..
It had earlier claimed that certain amendments made in Finance Act, 2017 and earlier Finance Act, 2016, both passed as money bills, have opened doors to unlimited political donations, even from foreign companies and thereby legitimising electoral corruption at a large scale, while at the identical time ensuring complete non-transparency in political funding.
The commission had told the apex court that it's received status of filing of electoral bonds from various political parties, including the BJP and also the Congress, in a very sealed cover.
The EC had filed an affidavit within the top court in pursuance to the April 12, 2019 direction asking the political parties to furnish all details of funds received through electoral bonds to the poll panel in an exceedingly sealed cover.
The apex court had in April 2019 declined to remain the Centre's Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 and made it clear that it'd accord an in-depth hearing on the pleas because the Centre and therefore the EC have raised "weighty issues" having "tremendous pertaining to the sanctity of the electoral process within the country".
The Centre and therefore the EC had earlier taken contrary stands within the court over political funding, with the govt. eager to maintain anonymity of donors of bonds and therefore the poll panel batting for revealing names of donors for transparency.
