Today(on 2nd August), The Supreme Court has declined to establish a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged ‘quid pro quo’ arrangements in the Electoral Bond Scheme. The matter is under review by the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
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NEW DELHI: Today(on 2nd August), The Supreme Court has declined to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the alleged ‘quid pro quo‘ arrangements in the Electoral Bond Scheme.
The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, is reviewing the matter.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) remarked-
“If legal remedies are not pursued for such grievances, it would be premature and inappropriate for the court to intervene at this stage. An Article 32 petition should follow the exhaustion of normal legal remedies and be based on their failure. Intervention by this court now would imply that the standard remedies under the law would be ineffective.”
Adding to this, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud emphasized that-
“Individual grievances regarding presence of quid pro quo would have to be pursued on the basis of remedies available under the law. Where there is a refusal to investigate or closure report has been filed, appropriate remedies can be taken under law governing criminal procedure or as the case may be under Article 226,”
The petitions claimed that the electoral bond data released on the orders of the Supreme Court showed that the bulk of these were given as “quid pro quo” arrangements by corporates to political parties, either for fiscal gains or to avoid actions by central agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Income Tax department.
“The data shows private companies have paid crores of funds to political parties either as ‘protection money’ for protection against agencies under the central government or as a ‘bribe’ in return for undue benefits. In some instances, it has been seen that the political parties in power at the Centre or in states have apparently amended policies and/or laws to provide benefits to private corporates at the cost of public interest and the public exchequer,”
-alleged a petitioner.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down the electoral bond scheme as ‘unconstitutional’ on February 15. The apex court ruled that the scheme violates Article 19 of the Constitution by failing to disclose the funding to political parties. Consequently, the SC also invalidated provisions in the Companies Act, Income Tax Act, and Representation of the People Act related to electoral bonds. As a result of this ruling, the State Bank of India (SBI), which was mandated to issue such bonds, was ordered to cease issuing them immediately.
In the data released, there were 1,260 companies and individuals that purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 12,769 crore. The top 20, all companies, accounted for Rs 5,945 crore—or nearly half of the total amount donated through electoral bonds.