Note from the Supreme Court to State Bank of India: “Poll bond information partial”
The State Bank of India (SBI) was asked to clarify its position by the Supreme Court, which took issue with the bank’s partial disclosure of information on electoral bonds. The bank was served with notice on Friday.
The SBI was ordered to turn over the electoral bonds’ details to the Election Commission on March 11 by a five-judge Constitution Bench chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The bench objected to the SBI’s failure to disclose the electoral bonds’ numbers, stating that the bank was “duty bound” to do so.
The number that identified each electoral bond and revealed the connection between the buyer and the receiving political party had to be provided by the bank.
Following Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s statement that the SBI was not a party to the case and that its representatives were present in court when it filed an application that was now being disposed of, the Bench gave notice to the SBI. It said, “They (SBI) ought to be present when the issue is ongoing.”
As it requested the biggest bank in the nation to provide an explanation for why it has not released unique alphanumeric numbers in accordance with its directives, the SBI said that it should also publish bond numbers in addition to the information it has already provided on the purchase and redemption of the bonds.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal emphasized on behalf of the petitioners, reading aloud the relevant portion of the court’s ruling, that it was a “inclusive” order ordering the SBI to provide the EC with all pertinent information so that it may be made public. “In all honesty, we can disagree with what the SBI has revealed,” the CJI said, deferring the case until March 18 for more consideration.
The Bench, which was composed of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, also mandated the return of certain papers that the EC had sent to it in sealed covers. It gave the highest court Secretary General instructions to make sure the EC’s data was scanned and digitalized by Saturday at 5 p.m.
