An electoral bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties. According to the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, it is a bond issued in the nature of a promissory note, which shall be bearer in character. A bearer instrument is one which does not carry the name of the buyer or payee, no ownership information is recorded and the holder of the instrument (i.e. political party) is presumed to be its owner.
The scheme allows individuals, who are citizens of India, and domestic companies to donate these bonds — issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore — to political parties of their choice. The Supreme Court of India on February 15, 2024, struck down the electoral bonds scheme for anonymous funding to political parties as “unconstitutional”.
I am ashamed of the Attorney General. How can anybody with common sense argue that it is not the business of the voter to know the source of funding of the political party that seeks his vote? Ludicrous!
Ideally, this case ought to have been disposed of before the general election process started. However, given its importance, may the apex court be now pleased to rule definitively on the issue of electoral bonds. Let at least the tip of the iceberg of electoral funding be pristine.
The ECI has become redundant recently if we see the way they are perceived to be favouring the present government. So the SC has done little for transparency when it comes to political funding. We have witnessed what the “sealed cover” has done for Rafale as Apurva mentioned. It seems SC one day advocates for freedom of speech by considering “stolen files” and restricting it the next day. I would very much prefer Communist party’s not getting corporate funding than this opacity of the BJP, INC or any other political parties even though I don’t believe in their economic ideology