State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman, Dinesh Kumar Khara, filed a compliance affidavit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday regarding the electoral bonds issue. The affidavit confirms that the bank has furnished details of electoral bonds purchased and redeemed between April 14, 2019, and February 15, 2024, as directed by the court.
According to the affidavit, these details encompass the purchase dates of electoral bonds, the names of purchasers, bond denominations, redemption dates, and the recipient political parties’ names. It reveals that a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were purchased during this period, with 22,030 of them redeemed.
During the initial phase, from April 1, 2019, to April 11, 2019, 3,346 electoral bonds were bought, out of which 1,609 were redeemed. Notably, this period coincided with the commencement of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on April 11. Subsequently, between April 12, 2019, and February 15, 2024, 18,871 bonds were purchased, with 20,421 redeemed.
The SBI submitted the electoral bond details to the Election Commission (EC) in a digital format on Tuesday. The EC officials are set to review the data upon the return of Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar from Jammu and Kashmir. The EC is expected to publish the provided details on its website by March 15.
Earlier, on Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed SBI’s plea for an extension to furnish the electoral bond data. It directed the bank to submit the information to the EC by the close of business hours on Tuesday. The court also mandated an affidavit from the SBI Chairman and Managing Director, warning of potential consequences if the bank failed to adhere to the set timelines.
The Supreme Court had previously declared the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional on February 15. The scheme allowed corporations and individuals to anonymously donate funds to political parties by purchasing bonds from the SBI, which held exclusive access to purchaser details.