SC orders political parties to outfit electoral bond donation details to EC by May 30

New Delhi, Apr 12 All political parties, who got donations through electoral bonds, have been directed by the Supreme Court to outfit receipts and present all the related subtleties in a fixed spread to the Election Commission by May 30. A three-judge bench of the top court comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna on Friday asked the parties submit details about the character of the contributors and sum got from every one of them till May 15 to the survey board by May 30, seven days after general decision results are pronounced.

Details of funding received through electoral bonds will be kept in a sealed cover by the EC also till further orders. The SC will then examine in detail the changes made in law and guarantee that balance does not tilt for any party, said the three-judge bench.

The top court also directed the Finance Ministry to reduce the window of purchasing electoral bonds from 10 days to five days in April-May.

On Thursday, the top court had held the between time request on supplications recorded by NGOs Common Cause and Association for Democratic Reforms(ADR), and the Communist Party of India (M), which had tested the legitimacy of the discretionary security conspire and looked for that either the issuance of constituent securities be stayed or the names of benefactors be made open to guarantee transparency in the poll process.

If the identity of the purchasers of electoral bonds meant for transparent political funding isn't known, then efforts of the government to curtail black money during polls would be "futile", the top court said on Thursday.

The Center had asked the court not to interfere with electoral bonds at this stage and look at whether it has worked or not only after the elections. "So far as the electoral bond scheme is concerned, it is the matter of policy decision of the government and no government can be blamed for taking strategy choice," it told the seat involving Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

Electoral bonds were presented by amendments made in the Finance Act 2017 to the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934, Representation of Peoples Act 1951, Income Tax Act 1961 and Companies Act.

The pleas had sought a stay on the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, which was informed by the Center in January a year ago. In its sworn statement, the Center had said the electoral bonds "attempt at bringing greater transparency, ensuring KYC compliance and keeping an audit trail in contrast with the prior dark arrangement of money gifts." It also termed the issuance of electoral bonds by the government as "arbitrary" and "discriminatory".

Voting has already begun in the seven-phase Lok Sabha election with the first round being finished on April 11. Surveying will happen on April 18, 23, 29, May 6, 12 and 19 while the votes will be depended on May 23.