Supreme Court refuses to stay sale of electoral bonds ahead of key Assembly polls
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No motive to accomplish that now, says prime courtroom.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the sale of electoral bonds earlier than Assembly elections in essential States like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
The judgment by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde stated the scheme started in 2018 and continued in 2019 and 2020 with none impediments.
Also learn: Comment | Here is why the electoral bonds scheme must go
Chief Justice Bobde, who learn out the judgment, stated the courtroom discovered no motive to stall the sale of electoral bonds now.
The judgment got here on an urgent application moved by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, to stay the sale scheduled between April 1 and 10.
The NGO, additionally represented by advocate Neha Rathi, voiced critical apprehensions that sale of electoral bonds earlier than Assembly elections would “further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies”.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had stated the sale was introduced after getting permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The ECI registered its help for the electoral bonds scheme over the past listening to within the case earlier this week.
“The Election Commission is supporting electoral bonds or we will go back to the pre-existing situation of donations coming in by cash,” senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the ballot physique, stated.
NGO’s arguments
The ballot physique’s stand was fairly stunning because the NGO had constantly maintained that each the Reserve Bank of India and the ECI had objected to the electoral bond scheme.
“Data obtained through RTI has shown that illegal sale windows have been opened in the past to benefit certain political parties… There is a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming State elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies,” the NGO had submitted.
It stated the electoral bonds scheme had “opened doors to unlimited political donations, even from foreign companies and thereby legitimising electoral corruption at a huge scale, while at the same time ensuring complete non-transparency in political funding”.
Govt. view
The authorities had notified the scheme on January 2, 2018, and defended electoral bonds as an antidote to the affect of black cash in politics and nameless money donations of large quantities.
The Ministry of Finance affidavit within the prime courtroom had dismissed the ECI’s model that the invisibility afforded to benefactors was a “retrograde step” and would wreck transparency in political funding.
The authorities affidavit had stated the shroud of secrecy was a product of “well thought-out policy considerations”. It stated the sooner system of money donations had raised a “concern among the donors that, with their identity revealed, there would be competitive pressure from different political parties receiving donation”.
The Supreme Court, within the earlier listening to on Wednesday, flagged its concern that political events may misuse crores acquired as donations by electoral bonds to bankroll violent protests and even terror.
The courtroom had requested how the federal government supposed to flex “control” on how political events would use the donations.
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