New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stated that the State Bank of India (SBI) will have to disclose the numbers of the electoral bonds that the bank shared with the Election Commission of India. This will effectively establish the link between the donors and the political parties.
This comes a day after the electoral bonds data was published on the Election Commission's website on Thursday evening, after the bank submitted the records to the poll body on March 12.
The Election Commission had filed an application to the Supreme Court requesting the return of sealed documents the poll body provided following the court's interim order.
"One thing. Who is appearing for the State Bank of India? They have not disclosed the bond numbers. It has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.
On Thursday evening, SBI's electoral bond data was published on the Election Commission's website in two separate lists. One list contained the names of the donors and the money they donated; while the second list consisted the names of the political parties that were the beneficiaries of the bond. However, the data on which electoral bond was made against which political party was not revealed.
According to the published list, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gained more than half of the money donated through the electoral bonds. This is followed by the Trinamool Congress and the Indian National Congress.
The top donor is Future Gaming and Hotel Services that acquired bonds amounting to Rs 1,368 crore. Another company involved in the bond purchases is Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited, which is affiliated with a Telangana-based conglomerate known for its association with the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project in the state.
