A year after it dismissed a plea seeking a stay on the sale of Electoral Bonds, the Supreme Court today agreed to hear a case challenging the laws enabling the issuance of electoral bonds. The Electoral Bonds have become a key medium of funding for political parties across the country after their introduction in 2017.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the case before Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana and cited a news report that a Calcutta based company paid Rs 40 crores through electoral bonds to bypass the excise related issues. “It is distorting democracy,” Bhushan said.
To this, CJI Ramana said that had it not been for COVID etc then he would have heard all of this. Bhushan then said that it is a critical case. “Yes, we will hear it,” the CJI said.
An electoral bond is a promissory or bearer bond and can be purchased by any individual, company, firm or association of persons who are either citizens of India or incorporated or established in India. The bonds are issued for the funding of the political parties.
The Central government had introduced the electoral bonds through Finance Act 2017. Since the Finance Act, 2017 was introduced and passed as the money bill, it did not require the assent of the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA did not have a majority then.
Several petitions have challenged at least five amendments made through the Finance Act 2017 and Finance Act 2016 alleging that they opened doors to unlimited, unchecked funding of political parties. Association for Democratic Reforms and Common Cause NGO had said that the money bill route was adopted in order to bypass the Rajya Sabha.
