Last Updated on 19/07/2024 by wccexam Desk
Supreme Court.
Supreme Court But Electoral bonds, The Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear on July 22 a batch of petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged cases of donations between corporates and political parties through electoral bonds. A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra said it will hear the matter on Monday after advocate Prashant Bhushan sought an early hearing of the case.
Hearing will be held in Supreme Court on July 22
The petition filed by NGOs Common Cause and Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) sought direction to the authorities to investigate the source of funding of several political parties by shell companies and loss-making companies, as revealed by the electoral bond data. The petition sought direction to the authorities to recover from the political parties the amount paid by the companies to these parties in return, as it is the proceeds of crime.
sit Highlights of the petition demanding investigation
It alleged that the electoral bond case involved a scam of crores of rupees which could only be unearthed through an independent investigation monitored by the Supreme Court. Seeking an SIT probe monitored by a retired Supreme Court judge, the petitioners said, “Investigation in this matter would require unearthing the entire conspiracy in each case involving not only the company officials, government officials and functionaries of political parties but also the relevant officials of agencies like ED/IT and CBI etc. who appear to be part of this conspiracy.”
What did the petition say about anonymous electoral bonds?
The petition alleged that the data made public after the apex court struck down the anonymous electoral bond scheme showed that most of the bonds were given by corporates to political parties as a quid pro quo for obtaining government contracts or licences, or protection from investigations by the CBI, Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, or in consideration of favourable policy changes.
Violation of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
It also alleged that several pharma companies, which were under regulatory scrutiny for manufacturing substandard drugs, also bought electoral bonds. It said such transactions were in clear violation of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Supreme Court in its February verdict had struck down the electoral bond scheme, under which funds could be given to political parties anonymously, and ordered SBI to immediately stop issuing electoral bonds.
It had unanimously rejected the electoral bond scheme as well as amendments made to the Income Tax Act and the Representation of the People Act that made donations anonymous.