SBI filed affidavit in Supreme Court on electoral bonds

New Delhi: State Bank of India on Wednesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in the electoral bond case, containing details of electoral bonds purchased and encashed till March 15, 2024. According to the data provided by SBI, a total of 3346 bonds were purchased from April 1, 2019 to April 11 of the same year. Out of these, a total of 1609 bonds were encashed. According to the information given by SBI, a total of 18,871 electoral bonds were purchased from April 12, 2019 to February 15. 20,421 bonds were encashed. Earlier, on Tuesday evening, on the orders of the Supreme Court, SBI submitted to the Election Commission the details of the organizations that had purchased the now expired electoral bonds and the political parties that had received them. The top court had on Monday ordered SBI to submit details of electoral bonds to the Election Commission by the end of working hours on March 12.
According to the order, the Election Commission will have to publish the information shared by the bank on its official website by 5 pm on March 15. “In compliance with the instructions given to SBI in connection with the Supreme Court orders dated February 15 and March 11, 2024, State Bank of India has submitted details on electoral bonds to the Election Commission on March 12,” the Election Commission said. In a landmark judgment on February 15, the court struck down the Centre’s electoral bond scheme, terming it unconstitutional and ordering the Election Commission to disclose donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients. SBI had sought time till June 30 to disclose the details. However, the top court rejected the bank’s plea and asked it to submit all the details to the Election Commission by the end of working hours on Tuesday.