SBI submits data on electoral bonds to Election Commission

The Supreme Court had on Monday rejected SBI's plea to extend the March 6 deadline for submitting the data to the ECI

New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday evening submitted data on political contributions made through electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI), in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order.

The Election Commission will now collate and release the data by 5 p.m. on Friday, as per the court order. The Supreme Court had on Monday rejected SBI’s plea to extend the March 6 deadline for submitting the data to the ECI.

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A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud came down strongly on the bank for “willful disobedience” of its orders and warned it of contempt proceedings on Monday.

The SBI had claimed that it would take a considerable amount of time to collect, cross-check and release the data, which was stored in two silos to maintain secrecy. In a verdict delivered on February 15, the Supreme Court struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme, 2018 as unconstitutional and ordered the SBI to forthwith stop their issuance.

It also asked the SBI to submit details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 2019 to the ECI by March 6 for publication on the official website of the poll body. “SBI must disclose details of each Electoral Bond encashed by political parties which shall include the date of encashment and the denomination of the Electoral Bond. SBI shall submit the above information to the ECI within three weeks from the date of this judgment, that is, by March 6, 2024,” the SC had said in its February 15 order.