SC Refers Electoral Bonds Challenge to Constitution Bench

October 17, 2023

In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has referred the petitions challenging the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme to a five-judge Constitution Bench. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, leading a three-judge bench, made this announcement during mentioning hours, a time designated for urgent matters.

Background

The petitioners had previously requested that the case be referred to a Constitution Bench, but the Supreme Court had not shown a willingness to do so. However, on October 10, the Chief Justice-led bench set a hearing date for October 31.

Petitions and Controversy

The Supreme Court is currently handling several petitions challenging the Electoral Bonds Scheme, including those filed by NGOs Common Cause and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Congress leader Jaya Thakur, and the CPI(M).
While the Central Government has defended the scheme as a significant step towards electoral reform, ensuring transparency and accountability, the petitioners argue that it undermines transparency in political funding. They point out that it allows political parties to avoid disclosing their annual contribution reports to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the identities of donors who contributed through Electoral Bonds.

Past Court Actions

In April 2019, a three-judge Supreme Court bench issued an interim order requiring political parties that received donations through Electoral Bonds to promptly submit bond details to the ECI.
Subsequently, in March 2021, when dismissing a request to halt the sale of new bonds, the Supreme Court disputed the claim of “complete anonymity” of bond purchasers, stating that the scheme’s operations were not entirely hidden from scrutiny. The court noted that bonds had been issued in previous years without impediments and had already ordered certain safeguards through its April 2019 interim order.
The Supreme Court also highlighted that the Election Commission had received details of contributions made through bonds, following the April 2019 order.

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