'Unconstitutional' electoral bonds scheme raised over Rs 16,500 cr in 5 years

The Supreme Court Thursday struck down the electoral bonds scheme and ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to issue details of the political parties that have received contributions through electoral bonds from the interim order on 12 April 2019, to date to the Election Commission of India (ECI). But there has been a pertinent question among people about how much money has been collected so far via the Electoral Bonds scheme. Total collection through electoral bonds According to government data, with the latest tranche issued in January 2024, as many as 30 tranches of electoral bonds issued have collected over Rs 16,500 crore. The Election Bonds Scheme was introduced by the government on 2 January 2018, with the aim “to ensure clean tax-paid money is coming into the system of political funding through proper banking channels.” As per the data presented in Lok Sabha during the Budget 2024 session, Minister of State in the Finance Ministry Pankaj Chaudhry, in a written reply stated: “The total value of Electoral Bonds purchased (Phase-I to Phase –XXX) from SBI is about Rs 16,518 crores.” The commission paid to the SBI by the Government of India for the issuance and redemption of Electoral Bonds from Phase I to Phase XXV is about Rs 8.57 crore. Also, the amount paid by the government to Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) to date is about Rs 1.90 crore. Supreme Court Electoral Bonds Scheme verdict The top court Thursday asked the SBI to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by the political parties, which shall include the date of encashment and the denomination of the electoral bond. The bank has been asked to submit the details to the ECI within three weeks, till 6 March 2024, after which the poll body has been directed to publish them on its official website by 13 March. Once the details are published by the ECI, political parties have been directed to refund the Electoral bonds amount to the purchaser’s account. Also Read: Anonymous electoral bonds violative of right to information, rules Supreme Court The court said Electoral Bonds which are within the validity period of 15 days but have not been encashed by the political parties yet shall be returned by them to the purchaser. The issuing bank shall then refund the amount to the purchaser’s account. Who could purchase electoral bonds? A person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India was eligible to purchase the electoral bonds. An individual could buy electoral bonds singly or jointly with others. Which political parties were eligible to receive Electoral Bonds? Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last Lok Sabha polls or the Legislative Assembly of the State, were eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. Parties were only eligible to encash these bonds through a bank account with the authorized bank. With inputs from agencies