Election Commission Releases Electoral Bonds Data Following Supreme Court Order

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has complied with the recent Supreme Court order by publishing the electoral bonds data on its official website. This move followed the State Bank of India (SBI) handing over the electoral bonds data to the ECI as per the court’s directive.

The Supreme Court previously declared the 2018 electoral bond scheme as unconstitutional and mandated the SBI to provide all related details to the ECI for public disclosure by March 13.

Rejecting the SBI’s request for an extension till June 2024, the Supreme Court instructed the bank to deliver the electoral bond data to the Election Commission by March 12.

On March 12, the SBI submitted two sets of data to the Election Commission – one listing the purchasers of electoral bonds with details of dates and denominations, and the second containing information on the encashment of bonds by political parties.

The electoral bond data made public includes the names of purchasers and their corresponding donation amounts through the bonds. Notable donors mentioned in the data are companies like Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, Future Gaming and Hotel Services, Sun Pharma, Lakshmi Mittal, Sula Wine, and DLF Commercial Developers.

In addition, the list encompasses various political parties receiving the electoral bonds, such as the BJP, Congress, AITMC, BRS, AIDMK, TDP, YSR Congress, AAP, SP, and JD(U).