Electoral bonds unconstitutional

The five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dr D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra during pronouncement of verdict on electoral bond scheme on Thursday. Pic/PTI

In a landmark judgement that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. In its verdict months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the apex court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed that the SBI must disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. The information should include the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds and be submitted to the poll panel by March 6.

The Election Commission should publish the information shared by SBI on its official website by March 13, the bench said. The CJI said the scheme is violative of the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution. "The electoral bonds scheme and the impugned provisions to the extent that they infringe on the right to information of the voter by anonymising contribution through electoral bonds are violative of Article 19 (1)(a)," the CJI said.

Power of votes over notes: Congress

The Congress on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bonds scheme, and said that it will reinforce the power of votes over notes. The opposition party also said that it hopes that the Modi Government will stop resorting to such "mischievous ideas" in the future and listen to the Supreme Court so that democracy, transparency and level-playing field persist. In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge welcomed the Supreme Court decision and hoped the government will stop resorting to "such mischievous ideas" in the future. He said the Congress had called the scheme "opaque and undemocratic" when it was launched. Subsequently, in the 2019 manifesto, the Congress promised to scrap the Modi government's "dubious scheme". "We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court today, which has struck down this ‘Black Money Conversion' scheme of the Modi Government, calling it ‘Unconstitutional'.

‘Oppn politicising as no alternative to Modi'

The BJP on Thursday sought to downplay the Supreme Court verdict on electoral bonds, saying every decision of the apex court should be respected and accused the opposition parties of politicising the issue. BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said the Opposition is politicising the issue as it does not have any alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and the positive work done by his government. The BJP's reaction came after the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement annulled the electoral bonds scheme ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. "We practice in the courts and on a daily basis, the cases are won and lost," Kohli told PTI when asked for his comment. Any order of the Supreme Court or its judgement has to be accepted and respected, he added.

‘Historic, in interest of clean democracy'

Former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy termed as "historic" the Supreme Court verdict on Thursday annulling the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, and said it's in the interest of a clean democracy. Speaking to PTI, Krishnamurthy said he entirely agreed with the judgment, noting that he had made public statements in the past that the electoral bonds scheme is not right for transparency in political funding. In fact, Krishnamurthy said, the scheme is not at all the right method, though it was claimed that it is promoting transparency because it goes through the banking channel. "But the origin of the funding and name of the donor are not known. And how do you know if it's clean money or dirty money; it's not known," he pointed out. "It is a historic judgment, it's in the interest of a clean democracy. I only hope that the political parties will learn their lessons," Krishnamurthy added.

CPI(M) hails apex court verdict

Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment striking down electoral bonds, the CPI(M) on Thursday said it was an "unscrupulous scheme designed to help the ruling party" and it was now essential to introduce reforms for political and electoral funding. In a widely anticipated judgement ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

‘Important to ensure transparency'

The Aam Aadmi Party welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on electoral bonds, saying it is an important step in ensuring transparency in election funding. In a landmark judgment that delivered a big blow to the government. "We welcome this decision. Otherwise through electoral bonds, it was not known which person was giving funds to which party. It is important for country's democracy that it is known," said AAP leader Atishi.

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