The Supreme Court will hear a batch of pleas challenging laws that permit funding to political parties through the electoral bond scheme. Electoral bonds had been presented to bring transparency to political funding.
Today, the Supreme Court will hear a batch of pleas challenging laws that permit funding to political parties through the electoral bond scheme.
Electoral bonds had been presented to bring transparency to political funding.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna will hear the PILs by NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other petitioners.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared from the NGO had already mentioned the matter before the then, Chief Justice of India (CJI) N. V. Ramana on April 5. He said that this is a serious issue, and it needs an urgent hearing. The court also consented to list the NGO’s plea for a hearing.
Earlier, Mr Bhushan had requested an urgent listing of the PIL from the court in October, last year. In this PIL, he requested a direction to the Centre should be given for not opening any further window for the sale of electoral bonds during the pendency of a case. The case pertains to the funding of political parties and the lack of transparency in their accounts.
NGO filed the PIL
The NGO had filed an interim application in March, last year right before the assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam. Further, they said that the window for the sale of electoral bonds would not be reopened.
The PIL was filed due to a lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties and the issue of corruption and subversion of democracy through foreign funding.
The NGO filed a fresh application in the pending petition and said that there is a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds would further increase the illegal funding of political parties through shell companies.
Last year also, the court refused to grant an interim stay on the 2018, Electoral Bonds Scheme and asked for responses from the Centre and the Election Commission on the application by the NGO, seeking a stay on the scheme.
The Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018
The Electoral Bond Scheme was notified in 2018, by the government.
According to the provisions of the scheme, a person who is a citizen of India can purchase electoral bonds. These electoral bonds can be purchased either singly or jointly with other individuals.
Political parties who are registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 are eligible to receive electoral bonds. But the condition is that only if they have secured not less than one per cent of votes polled in the last general election of Lok Sabha or Assembly of the State.
According to the notification issued, electoral bonds shall be purchased by an eligible political party only if they have a bank account with an authorised bank.
Earlier, the court had also denied staying the Centre’s Electoral Bond Scheme 2018. Now, the Court made it clear that it would accord an in-depth hearing on the pleas as the Centre, but the EC has raised “weighty issues”.
However, the Centre and the EC, both had different stands in the court over political funding earlier. Presently, the government wants to maintain the oblivion of donors of bonds while the EC wants to reveal donors’ names for transparency.
