SC to Pronounce Verdict on Validity of Electoral Bonds Tomorrow

The Supreme Court of India will deliver its judgment on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the electoral bonds scheme on February 15, sources said.

A Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had reserved the judgment on November 2 after hearing the matter for three days.

The scheme was challenged by various individuals and organizations, including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress leader Jaya Thakur, and Spandan Biswal. They were represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Vijay Hansaria, and lawyer Prashant Bhushan. The government was represented by Attorney General (AG) Venkatramani and Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta.

It may be mentioned that electoral bonds are financial instruments through which anyone can donate money to political parties. The bond provides anonymity to the donors. These bonds were introduced in 2017 to bring transparency to electoral funding and were formally launched in 2018.

The Central government justified the scheme as a way to guarantee that legitimate funds are used for political purposes through official banking channels. The government further contended that it was necessary to keep the identity of donors confidential so that they will not face any retribution from political parties.

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