State Bank's plea dismissed, Supreme Court asks for disclosure by tomorrow

*New Delhi*: The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition by the State Bank of India (SBI) seeking an extension until June 30 to disclose details of election bonds issued by political parties and utilized. The court has directed the bank to submit the complete details by the end of the banking hours on March 12. The Supreme Court also instructed the Election Commission to publish the details provided by SBI on its website before March 15.

Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, stated, "SBI has claimed in its application that the requested information is readily available. Thus, SBI's application for an extension until June 30 is dismissed."

Senior advocate Harish Salve representing SBI stated, "We are attempting to gather the information, and we are finding the entire process cumbersome. As a bank, we were informed that this is considered confidential. However, Justice Sanjiv Khanna responded, stating, "You just need to open a sealed envelope, compile the details, and provide the information. SBI was asked to submit details in a sealed envelope."

The bench remarked, "Under the leadership of the Chief Justice, a bench of five judges has heard the matter. What steps have you taken in the past 26 days? Your application is silent on it."

It is worth mentioning that on February 15, the Constitution Bench of five judges had scrapped the Centre's scheme for electoral bonds, terming it "unconstitutional." The Supreme Court had directed SBI to provide the details of donors, the amount donated, and recipients to the Election Commission by March 6. The Election Commission was instructed to publish the information on its official website by March 13.