‘Unconstitutional' Supreme Court strikes down electoral bonds scheme, says it violates RTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the electoral bond scheme that allows anonymous donations to political parties by purchasing electoral bonds from the State Bank of India (SBI), saying anonymous electoral bonds violated citizens’ right to information. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud delivered 2 separate but unanimous verdicts on pleas challenging the scheme.

Calling electoral bonds ‘unconstitutional’, the top court said, “Infringement of the voter’s right to know is not proportionally justified by saying black money is being curbed. Pronouncing the verdict, CJI said the scheme is violative of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. “Contributions are also made to parties which are not substantially represented. Contributions of quid pro quo are not a show of political support,” SC said.