The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the electoral bonds scheme notified by the Central government in 2018, terming it unconstitutional, arbitrary and violative of the citizens' right to information.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud delivered two separate but unanimous verdicts on pleas challenging the scheme.
Pronouncing the verdict, the CJI said the scheme is violative of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution, adding that the fundamental right to privacy includes citizens’ right to political privacy and affiliation.
The CJI said the scheme may lead to a quid pro quo arrangement between political parties and donors, and that citizens have the right to know about it.
The apex court ordered State Bank of India (SBI) to stop issuing electoral bonds immediately, and asked the lender to furnish details of donations made through the scheme to the Election Commission.
SBI must disclose the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme and details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties, including the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds.
The Election Commission should publish the information provided by SBI on its official website by March 13, the order said.
The bench, also comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice BR Gavai, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, ordered political parties to return electoral bonds that have not been encashed.
The electoral bonds scheme, notified by the government on January 2, 2018, was pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties and a way to stop black money in political funding.
However, the Constitution bench held that Centre's stated objective of fighting black money and maintaining the confidentiality of donors cannot justify the scheme. Electoral bonds, the court said, are not the only way to curb black money.