The State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman filed the compliance affidavit in Supreme Court (SC), saying all details of Electoral Bonds, including the alphanumeric numbers, have been disclosed to the Election Commission of India (ECI), according to reports.
Earlier, on March 21, 2024, the SBI had provided all details of the Electoral Bonds in its possession to the ECI, the SBI affidavit stated. The action comes after the top Court criticized the public lender for being "selective" and ordered it to disclose all details related to the electoral bonds scheme by March 21.
The SC had demanded that the bank provide complete disclosure, including the unique bond numbers, which would reveal the link between the buyers and the recipient political parties.
A five-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had said, "There is no manner of doubt that SBI is required to make a complete disclosure of all details in its possession… This, we clarify, would comprehend the alphanumeric number and the serial number, if any, of the bonds which were purchased and redeemed.
The SC had insisted on full disclosure from the bank, including the bond numbers that were specific to each buyer and the political groups that received the funds.
"There is no manner of doubt that SBI is required to make a complete disclosure of all details in
its possession," Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud remarked, leading a five-judge bench. We emphasize that this would include the serial number, if applicable, and the alphanumeric number of the bonds that were bought and redeemed. March 21 was designated as the disclosure deadline.
Following the strict order from the Supreme Court, SBI had previously sent the data to the ECI on March 12 and the apex court on March 13 with an affidavit regarding the same. Furthermore, the ECI was given until March 15 by the Supreme Court to post the data on its website. The details of the electoral bonds that the SBI had provided were published on the official website of the ECI on March 16.
The top court had given SBI till March 6 to turn in the information, and ECI was instructed to make it available to the public by March 13 before the Supreme Court harshly criticized State Bank of India for attempting to postpone providing poll bond details.
