The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an application seeking to bar the sale of Electoral Bonds ahead of the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry in March-end and April. The fresh electoral bonds can be issued from April 1. The decision came after the Election Commission contended that it approves of the instrument since without it political parties will deal in hard cash.
However, the poll panel said it plans on bringing in more transparency into the transactions involving the bonds.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian said: "In light of the scheme introduced in 2018 and the fact they have been released in 2018, 2019, and 2020 without impediment, we do not see any reason to stay the issuance at this stage."
The plea was filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) claiming there is a serious apprehension that any further sale of Electoral Bonds before the upcoming state elections, would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies.
"Since the bonds were allowed to be released in 2018 and 2019 without interruption, and sufficient safeguards are there, there is no justification to stay the electoral bonds at present," the court said today.
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a non-governmental organisation working in the area of electoral and political changes, had moved the court seeking an interim stay on the sale of electoral bonds scheduled between April 1 and April 10. The petition stated that the sale of bonds be banned till matters related to political parties funding and transparency of their accounts are sorted out.
The NGO was represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan.
ADR had asked the top court to direct the Centre not to open any further window for sale of electoral bonds under the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, during the pendency of its writ petition. Bhushan argued that the instrument had turned into a tool for receiving bribes in the guise of donations by the ruling party. Citing that the Reserve Bank of India's misgivings about it, Bhushan said, "The RBI has said that this system of bonds is a type of weapon or medium for financial scams.”
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The petitioner said it filed an intervention application in March 2019 and also in November 2019. In October, last year, the organization applied for an early hearing given the upcoming Bihar elections then. However, the matter has not been listed for more than a year now.
"The Electoral Bonds Scheme has opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate donations to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian as well as foreign companies which can have serious repercussions on the Indian democracy," the plea argued.