SBI submits all details, including serial numbers, of electoral bonds to Election Commission
New Delhi: After the Supreme Court’s rebuke, the State Bank of India has furnished critical details on electoral bonds, including the serial numbers for the bonds, to the Election Commission, media reported.
The serial numbers for the bonds will enable to link the donors with the political parties that were the recipients.
On Thursday, the State Bank of India (SBI) filed an affidavit of compliance to the Supreme Court.
One of the points of the affidavit reads, "It is respectfully submitted that SBI has now disclosed all details and that no details [other than complete account numbers & KYC details] have been withheld from disclosure."
The details submitted by the bank are likely to be published by the Election Commission on its website soon, reported NDTV.
Earlier, the State Bank of India (SBI) had given two lists to the Election Commission, which were published on the commission's website on March 14.
The first list had details such as the names of the donors, the denominations of the bonds, and the dates of purchase.
The second list included the names of political parties, along with the denominations of the bonds and the dates they were cashed.
However, without the unique alphanumeric code visible only under ultraviolet (UV) light, there was no means of correlating the lists to determine which donor contributed to which party.
On Monday, the Supreme Court directed the State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest bank, to reveal all information concerning electoral bonds, including the serial numbers, by 5 pm today.
The court directed the filing of an affidavit affirming compliance with its ruling in response to a petition challenging the "incomplete data" furnished by the bank.
"We want all information related to the electoral bonds to be disclosed which is in your possession... The SBI's attitude seems to be 'you tell us what to disclose, we will disclose'. That does not seem to be fair. When we say "all details", it includes all conceivable data... All details should come out. We want to ensure that nothing has been suppressed," Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had said.
According to the report, iIn its affidavit on Thursday, which carries the name of SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, the bank stated, "It bears repetition that the SBI is now revealing information [alongwith that already disclosed] which will show:
The name of the purchaser of the bond,
The denomination and specific number of the bond,
The name of the party that has encashed the bond,
Last four digits of the bank account number of political parties,
The denomination and number of the bond encashed."
The Supreme Court had instructed the Election Commission to publish the details on its website once received from the SBI, a process anticipated to occur later on Thursday.
It's worth noting that the electoral bonds scheme was deemed unconstitutional and arbitrary, leading to its invalidation by the Supreme Court on February 15.
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