Electoral bonds worth ₹280 crore sold ahead of Bihar Assembly elections

Electoral bonds worth ₹282.29 crore had been sold in October ahead of the Bihar Assembly election, the State Bank of India mentioned on Friday in response to a Right to Information (RTI) question.

The financial institution was responding to an utility by Commodore Lokesh K. Batra (retired). He had sought a “branch-wise and denomination-wise” data on the sale of electoral bonds between October 19 and October 28.

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The RTI reply confirmed that bonds worth ₹282,29,01,000 had been sold from 9 SBI branches. The Mumbai department sold the very best quantity of electoral bonds at ₹130 crore.

Electoral bonds valued ₹1 crore every had been sold probably the most at 279. This was adopted by bonds worth ₹10 lakh every — 32 of them had been sold. Nine bonds worth a lakh every had been additionally sold. A solitary bond valued at ₹1,000, which was not encashed, was transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

The data from the RTI response is important as a petition difficult the validity of electoral bonds, filed by the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, has been pending for lengthy within the Supreme Court.

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In October, the NGO had urgently moved the apex courtroom in opposition to the opening of the sale window proper earlier than the Bihar polls. It had requested the courtroom for an pressing listening to.

The utility had mentioned that “right before the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, the State Bank of India, in the XIV Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches w.e.f. October 19 to October 28”.

The utility had identified that the federal government notification of 2018 on electoral bonds scheme stipulated that their sale ought to occur within the months of January, April, July and October yearly.

However, the sale window was not opened in April and July, however has been accomplished so in October, proper earlier than the Bihar polls, it contended.

The utility mentioned it has been 9 months because the final listening to within the case. The petitioner had twice urged the courtroom to remain the implementation of the scheme.

In January this yr, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde had not discovered it crucial to remain the scheme.