Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 14: The Supreme Court on Friday will consider a number of petitions that question the legality of the Center’s electoral bond programme as a means of raising money for politics.
After more than 18 months, the case has been listed at the apex court.
The group of five petitions, led by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, will be heard by a bench of justices comprised of BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna (ADR).
The issuance of electoral bonds in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry was to be stopped in advance of those elections; however, the apex court rejected two stay appeals made by ADR in March 2021.
It was determined that the sale had continued “without any obstacle” in 2018 through 2020. It was also determined that there was no justification to restrict their sale due to worries about anonymity in political party finance or fears of their misuse.
Earlier, in April 2019, the top court established a temporary “safeguard” by ordering all political parties to provide the Election Commission of India (ECI) with information on receipts of the electoral bonds in a sealed cover. This was done as a temporary remedy while the petitions that challenge the legality of these electoral bonds are still pending are being resolved.
Notably, the electoral bonds system was introduced by way of a money bill introducing amendments in the Finance Act and the Representation of Peoples Act.
