To combat cash donations in political funding, India introduced electoral bonds scheme in 2018. These bonds were created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to enhance transparency in political contributions. The system mandates that only registered political parties with a 1% vote share in the last election to the parliament or a state assembly can receive electoral bonds, which must be redeemed within 15 days. Despite their initial aim, electoral bonds have since become the dominant source of political funding in India, accounting for an overwhelming 56% of all funding, as revealed by a report from the ADR.
Supreme court decision in electoral bonds scheme:
The Supreme Court ruled that the anonymous electoral bond scheme violates the right to information and Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The Court held that there are alternative methods to combat black money and declared the scheme unconstitutional due to its non-disclosure provision. The bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra determined that the scheme's infringement on the Right to Information was unjustified.
The Supreme court has directed SBI to furnish detailed information regarding all electoral bonds issued since April 2019 to the Election Commission of India within three weeks. Political parties face an additional burden, with a 15-day deadline to return all uncashed electoral bonds in their possession. This verdict ushers in a new era of transparency in political funding, potentially altering the landscape of Indian elections.