Concerns Related to the Electoral Bonds Scheme
Though the Electoral Bonds Scheme was made null and void on 15th February 2024; we need to know about the related concerns that led the Supreme Court to declare it as an Unconstitutional scheme. Here are some of them as mentioned below.
- The core criticism related to the electoral bonds scheme was that it did the exact opposite of what it was meant to do i.e. transparency to election funding was null and void in this scheme.
- The fact was that the bonds were sold by SBI leaves the door open for the government to know exactly who was funding its tough opponents. That means it also violated Article 21 which is personal liberty.
- The scheme was against democracy to balance the scheme, so many changes were made to the Finance Act 2017. In this amendment, the Union government exempted the political parties from the process of disclosing donations that were received through the electoral bonds.
- It opened an invisible gate to the corporates and anonymous foreign companies which can have serious repercussions on the Indian democracy.
- The foreign companies enjoyed a 100% tax exemption in this scheme.
- It violates the right to information under Article 19(1)(a) which is a fundamental right of Indian Citizens.
- The scheme was against free and fair elections.
- The scheme was a classic example of the Crony Capitalism that supports mutually advantageous relationships between business leaders and different government officials.
Electoral Bonds Scheme Unconstitutional: Supreme Court
Electoral Bonds Scheme Unconstitutional: The Supreme Court strikes down the anonymous poll funding system or the Electoral Bonds Scheme on 15th February 2024 at 10:30 AM. In this landmark verdict, the Supreme Court clearly states that the Electoral Bonds Scheme is “Unconstitutional” in nature as it violates the right to information under Article 19(1)(a). The particular scheme was announced in the Union Budget speech for the very first time by the Union Finance Minister Late Arun Jaitley in 2017.
In this verdict, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud ordered that the banks should stop selling electoral bonds with immediate effect. They also told the State Bank of India to give a detailed report to the Election Commission of India detailing all the electoral bonds that were sold from April 12, 2019, till now.
In this article, we are going to discuss the Electoral Bonds Scheme with its history, features, and related loopholes in detail. We will also cover the news of the Electoral Bonds Scheme which is struck down by the Supreme Court of India.
Table of Content
- What is the Electoral Bond Scheme?
- Why it is in the News?
- Electoral Bonds – Overview
- Supreme Court struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme
- Key Observations and Directions Of Supreme Court
- Effects – Electoral Bonds Scheme Unconstitutional : Supreme Court
- Concerns Related to the Electoral Bonds Scheme
- Transaction Toll Through Electoral Bonds Scheme – Party Wise
- Electoral Bonds Scheme – Data Released by the Election Commission of India
- Top 10 Regional Parties Income (₹) in FY 2021-22 (Unknown Sources)
- Electoral Bonds – Bond Numbers