Elections:
Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018 – Application seeking stay of the sale of electoral bonds under the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018 – Another application seeking an interim direction to the Union of India not to open any further window for sale of Electoral Bonds which is likely to be opened on 01.04.2021 under the Scheme – Plea that Electoral Bonds Scheme allows the donors of political parties to maintain anonymity – Held: Despite the fact that the Scheme provides anonymity, the Scheme is intended to ensure that everything happens only through banking channels – While the identity of the purchaser of the bond is withheld, it is ensured that unidentified/ unidentifiable persons cannot purchase the bonds and give it to the political parties – A non-KYC compliant application or an application for purchase of bonds not meeting the requirements of the scheme would be rejected – As a result the information about the purchaser would certainly be available with the SBI which alone is authorised to issue and encash the bonds as per the Scheme – Moreover, any expenditure incurred by anyone in purchasing the bonds through banking channels, would have to be accounted as an expenditure in his books of accounts – Furthermore, since the Scheme mandates political parties to file audited statement of accounts and also since the Companies Act requires financial statements of registered companies to be filed with the Registrar of Companies, the purchase as well as encashment of the bonds, happening only through banking channels, is always reflected in documents that eventually come to the public domain – Thus, since the Scheme was introduced on 2.1.2018 and the bonds are released at periodical intervals of every year, viz 2018, 2019 and 2020 without any impediment; and that certain safeguards have already been provided by this Court, no justification for the grant of stay at this stage – Furthermore, once this Court has passed an order directing some interim arrangement, thereafter applications for the same relief cannot be made, every time the window for the purchase under the Scheme is opened.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
From the case lists those reports print.
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