Supreme Court Directs SBI To Disclose All Electoral Bond Data Available With It Including Unique Alphanumeric Numbers

Chief Justice Chandrachud emphasised the scope of disclosure required saying, “In the judgment, we had expressed asked the State Bank of India to disclose 'all details.' That includes the bond numbers as well. The bank cannot be selective in disclosing all details. Do not wait for the orders of this court.”

“If the numbers are to be given, we will give them. That's no problem,” Senior Advocate Harish Salve, representing the State Bank of India, admitted. He defended the bank by saying that the current status of the disclosure on the basis of its understanding of the court's interim directive in April 2019.

During the courtroom exchange, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing FICCI and ASSOCHAM, sought to address the court in an attempt to convince them to defer the disclosure of the bond numbers. However, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud responded, “We have no such application on board.”

When Rohatgi sought to press his application on behalf of industrialists, questioning how the information can be asked to be disclosed when there was a guarantee of anonymity, Chief Justice Chandrachud replied, "Mr Rohatgi, there is only one answer. With effect from April 12, 2019, we directed the collection of details. Everyone was put on notice at the time. This is why we did not ask the disclosure of the bonds sold prior to this interim order. This was a conscious choice by this constitution bench."

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In a related development, the 'Citizens Rights Trust' has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking the disclosure of the details of electoral bonds sold between March 1, 2018 and April 11, 2019, including the alphanumeric number, date of purchase, denomination, and names of donors and political parties. It has claimed that a total of 9,159 bonds worth Rs 4,000 crores was sold in this period. 

Presently, the Supreme Court has only directed the State Bank of India to disclose information relating to bonds sold since the court's interim order on April 12, 2019 until the date on which it declared the scheme unconstitutional on February 15.

During today's hearing, the Chief Justice Chandrachud-led bench responded to this application, emphasising that making the directive for disclosure applicable from April 12, 2019 was a conscious choice by the constitution bench. The chief justice clarified the court's stance once again, when some lawyers, including Advocate Prashant Bhushan, urged the court to direct the disclosure of electoral bond details from the inception of the government's scheme. 

"In our judgment, we have taken a conscious decision that the cut-off date should be date of interim order (April 12, 2019). We took that date because it was our considered view that once that interim order was pronounced, everybody was put on notice. If we have to go back to earlier date, it it will become a substantive modification of the judgment and will require a review of this judgment. This cannot be done in a miscellaneous application."

To this, Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria replied, "Logically, once the right to know of voter, it should be from the beginning. But if Your Lordships have taken a conscious decision, I am not pressing it."

When Bhushan continued his impassioned plea, Solicitor General Mehta interjected, "Enough of assistance by these 'public spirited citizens'. He is gathering the details for a future public interest litigation."

Ultimately, the bench dismissed this application as non-maintainable, recording that it sought a substantive modification of the constitution bench ruling. 

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