A new petition in the Supreme Court seeks a review of its August 2, 2024 ruling that dismissed calls for confiscating Rs 16,518 crore received under the Electoral Bond Scheme. The petitioner argues the scheme is unconstitutional per a prior ruling and calls for clarification on the judgment’s retrospective application to nullify the scheme and funds collected.
NEW DELHI: A fresh petition filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday has sought a review of its August 2, 2024 order, which dismissed pleas for confiscating Rs 16,518 crore received by political parties under the 2018 Electoral Bond Scheme (EBS). The petitioner has requested the restoration of the earlier plea and a fresh hearing.
The apex court’s earlier verdict rejected petitions, including one by Khem Singh Bhati, seeking a court-monitored investigation into the EBS. The court had observed that it could not order a “roving inquiry” into the matter. The new review plea argues that the Electoral Bond Scheme was rendered unconstitutional following the court’s judgment in the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) v. Union of India case on February 15, 2024.
“The effect of declaring the Electoral Bond Scheme and the various statutory provisions as unconstitutional is that the said scheme never existed and is void ab initio. It is a settled position of law that the court only finds law and it does not make law,”
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the plea stated.
The petitioner contends that the ADR judgment, delivered by a five-judge constitution bench, invalidated the EBS due to its violation of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. However, the three-judge bench’s dismissal of the subsequent petitions for confiscation of funds collected under EBS indirectly contradicted the ADR ruling.
“The dismissal constituted an apparent error on the face of the record,”
the plea emphasized. It argued that the ADR judgment did not state its findings would apply prospectively, meaning the statutory framework supporting electoral bonds should have been treated as invalid from inception. Consequently, the EBS and all funds collected under it should be nullified.
The review petition, filed through advocate Jayesh K. Unnikrishnan and settled by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, underscored that Rs 16,518 crore collected by political parties could not be dismissed simply based on the existence of legislation at the time.
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It further noted that the dismissal of confiscation pleas indirectly modified the ADR judgment, as the latter explicitly declared the EBS unconstitutional. The petitioner urged the court to address the inconsistency and ensure that the judgment’s retrospective effect is applied to nullify the scheme and its financial implications.
The Supreme Court’s decision on this review petition is now awaited as it could have significant implications for the legality of funds raised under the Electoral Bond Scheme and the transparency of political financing in India.
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