SBI Hand-Delivers Electoral Bonds Data to ECI, Responding to Supreme Court’s Ultimatum

In response to the Supreme Court’s directive, the State Bank of India (SBI) has hand-delivered details of electoral bonds anonymously purchased and encashed by political parties to the Election Commission of India (ECI). A total of 22,217 electoral bonds were purchased and 22,030 were redeemed by political parties between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024, as disclosed by the SBI. Despite the court’s initial request for information starting from April 12, 2019, the bank clarified that the selling and redeeming of electoral bonds commenced on April 1.

The SBI shared comprehensive information with the ECI, including dates of purchase, names of purchasers, denomination of bonds, and dates of encashment, among others. The Supreme Court had previously invalidated the anonymous electoral bonds scheme, compelling the SBI to disclose donor details and contribution amounts to political parties. Despite the complexity of the process, the SBI complied with the court’s order to ensure transparency in political funding before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.