Supreme Court Rejects SBI’s Request for Deadline Extension on Electoral Bonds Disclosure

The Supreme Court denied the State Bank of India’s (SBI) request to postpone the disclosure of electoral bonds details until June 30. The apex court has directed SBI to provide the required information by the end of business hours on March 12. 

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted that the bank’s application indicated the availability of the requested information, leading to the dismissal of the extension plea.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing SBI, mentioned the bank’s efforts to compile the information, which was initially intended to be confidential. However, Justice Sanjiv Khanna clarified that the bank needs to reveal the details as per the Election Commission’s (EC) instructions.

The case was overseen by a five-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice, who questioned the steps taken by SBI in the past 26 days. Previously, on February 15, the Supreme Court had declared the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional and ordered SBI to submit donor details to the EC, which in turn was instructed to publish the data on its website by March 13.

The Chief Justice highlighted that the electoral bonds scheme requires the bank to maintain confidentiality unless disclosure is mandated by law enforcement or other authorities.

(with inputs from Bar and Bench, PTI)