Supreme Court displeasure over SBI’s disguised statistics is evident; notice
The Supreme Court stated on Friday that the State Bank of India is required by law to provide the distinct alphanumeric codes of the electoral bonds that political parties have received, and it is requesting an explanation from the bank if it has not done so.
Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud’s five-judge panel declared that the Supreme Court had ordered the publication of all bond information, including the buyer, amount, and purchase date, in its ruling on the electoral bond issue.
A day after the Election Commission released the whole list of organizations that had bought electoral bonds in order to make political contributions, the CJI noted that all information must be provided by the SBI. The SBI was notified by the bench, which also included Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra. The case was scheduled for a hearing on March 18.
“Who is going to be in the SBI? Since, in our opinion, we had explicitly ordered the publication of all bond information, including the buyer, the purchase price, and the date of purchase. The bond numbers have not been made public. The CJI pulled up the bank and stated, “That has to be disclosed by the SBI.”
The parties receiving the donations would be matched with the individuals who had bought the electoral bonds,, thanks to the distinct alphanumeric numbers.
Santiago: Under the ED’s watch for years, Santiago Martin went from being a laborer to being the lottery king. According to the Election Commission, he is now the largest purchaser of electoral bonds. Martin’s Future Games and Hotel Services, sometimes referred to as the “Lottery king,” purchased electoral bonds totaling R1,368 crore. Martin, who are you? What business interests does he have? Martin, who is headquartered in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu’s western region, is said to have begun his life as a “laborer” and has an inspiring tale of how he went from poverty to wealth.
Despite the lottery’s 2003 prohibition in Tamil Nadu, many people still associate the term “Martin Lottery” with negative associations, such police raids. In 2019, after being questioned by income tax officials, the accountant of a Martin-run institution in Coimbatore was discovered dead. Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt Ltd, his firm, is the Sikkim Lotto’s main distributor.
second-biggest contributor is Megha Engineering
The second-largest contributor to political parties via electoral bonds was Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, a little-known Hyderabad-based company that recently won the famous Zojila tunnel contract among other projects, ventured into city gas, and bought a media business. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) purchased bonds totaling Rs 966 crore between the fiscal years 2019–20 and 2023–24. During this time, MEIL was awarded licenses to retail compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped cooking gas in certain cities, in addition to the project to construct an all-weather road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020. Megha Engineering Enterprises, an unlisted private company, was established in 1989 by businessman Pamireddy Pitchi Reddy to produce pipes for local governments. After rebranding as Megha Engineering and Infrastructure in 2006, it proceeded to build major infrastructure projects, including highways, power plants, dams, and natural gas distribution networks.
third-placed company on the list with connections to Reliance Industries Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, a little-known business with its registered address in Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) in Navi Mumbai, was the third-largest contributor to political parties using electoral bonds.
During the fiscal years 2021–2022 and 2023–2024, it purchased R410 crore in electoral bonds; nonetheless, Reliance said that the business is not a division of any Reliance firm. Election Commission data released on its website indicates that Future Gaming and Hotel Services, a lesser-known lottery firm, and Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infra received contributions and sales of electoral bonds totaling Rs 966 crore and Rs 1,368 crore, respectively, from Qwik Supply.
According to information that is readily accessible to the public, Qwik Supply is a producer of storage units and warehouses. On November 9, 2000, the unlisted private business was established, with an authorized share capital of Rs 130.99 crore. Its capital is fully paid up at Rs 129.99 crore. According to a spokesman for Reliance Industries, Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a Reliance company.
