New Delhi: In a significant development weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India on Thursday made public the data of the electoral bonds given to it by the State Bank of India, a day before the deadline set by the Supreme Court.
Following a Supreme Court directive, the State Bank of India had shared the data with the poll panel on March 12. The top court had given the Election Commission time till 5 pm of March 15 to upload the data on its website.
The data has been provided by the SBI in two parts. Part 1, which covers 337 pages, mentions the names of the companies and the amount of each Electoral Bond that these companies have purchased from the SBI. Part 2, which runs into 426 pages, contains the names of the political parties that have received the bonds and the date of encashment of each bond.
The two data sets reveal the purchases of bonds of denominations between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1 crore, dating back to April 12, 2019, the companies and individuals that purchased them, and the political parties that received the funds.
Donors through electoral bonds include Grasim Industries, Megha Engineering, Piramal Enterprises, Torrent Power, Bharti Airtel, DLF Commercial Developers, Vedanta Ltd, Apollo Tyres, Lakshmi Mittal, Edelweiss, PVR, Keventer, Sula Wine, Welspun, Sun Pharma among others.
Recipients of funds through electoral bonds include BJP, Congress, AIADMK, BRS, Shiv Sena, TDP, YSR Congress, DMK, JDS, NCP, Trinamool Congress, JDU, RJD, AAP, and SP.
The ECI said in a statement that the data has been uploaded on its website as received from the SBI on an "as is where is basis". The data as received from the SBI can be accessed at: https://www.eci.gov.in/candidate-politicalparty.
"In compliance of Hon'ble Supreme Court's directions, contained in its order dated February 15 and March 11, 2024 (in the matter of WPC NO.880 of 2017), the State Bank of India (SBI) had provided the data pertaining to the electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 12, 2024," the press note said.
The poll panel said that it has "consistently and categorically weighed in favour of disclosure and transparency, a position reflected in the proceedings of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and noted in the order also". On Wednesday, the Chairman of State Bank of India filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court apprising that in compliance with the court's order, the date of purchase of each electoral bond, the name of the purchaser and the denomination of the electoral bond purchased has been furnished to the Election Commission of India.
SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara, in the affidavit, told the top court that the bank has also furnished the details to the Election Commission regarding the date of encashment of the electoral bonds, the name of political parties who have received the contributions and the denomination of the said bonds.
SBI said that the data has been furnished in respect of bonds purchased and redeemed between April 12, 2019 to February 15, 2024. "A total of 22,217 bonds were purchased during the period April 1, 2019 till February 15, 2024," SBI told the Supreme Court.
"From April 1 to 11, 2019 total number of electoral bonds purchased were 3346 and total number of bonds redeemed were 1609," the affidavit stated. SBI further told the apex court that from April 12, 2019 to February 15, 2024 total number of electoral bonds purchased 18,871 and total number of bonds redeemed were 20,421.
The affidavit was filed in compliance of the top court's direction to the bank to furnish the data of electoral bonds to poll panel by March 12. The Constitution bench of the top court had warned the SBI of contempt of court against it for wilfully disobeying its order in the event of non-compliance with the latest directions.
On Monday the top court dismissed an application of SBI seeking extension of time till June 30 to submit details of electoral bonds to Election Commission of India and asked the bank to disclose the details by March 12. The apex court had also directed that Election Commission of India to compile the information to be furnished by the SBI and publish the details on its official website no later than by March 15, 2024, 5 pm.
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22,217 Electoral Bonds Were Purchased, 22,030 Redeemed, Info Provided to EC: SBI to SC
