SBI Submits Electoral Bonds Details To Election Commission, Here's What Compliance Affidavit Filed In Supreme Court Says

The State Bank of India (SBI) filed a compliance affidavit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday (13 March) as the apex court had mandated the disclosure of electoral bonds by the close of business on 12 March.

The affidavit filed by the SBI chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara stated that the bank has provided details on electoral bonds purchase and redemption to the Election Commission of India (ECI) as per the court’s order.

The details were submitted in a digital format disclosing the date of purchase of electoral bonds, names of buyers, their denominations, date of redemption of electoral bonds, and names of political parties that received donations.

According to the details, a total of 22,217 electoral bonds were purchased between 1 April 2019 and 15 February 2024. Out of them, 22,030 were redeemed, Indian Express said quoting the affidavit.

The ECI officials are expected to review the data tomorrow as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajeev Kumar is in Jammu and Kashmir and will return on Wednesday night.

Earlier, a five-judge constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, had dismissed SBI's plea seeking an extension until 30 June for disclosure on Monday.

It also directed the ECI to publish the information shared by the bank on its official website by 5 pm on 15 March. The bank highlighted that anonymity for customers would no longer apply given the Supreme Court's disclosure mandate.

It was reported yesterday that the SBI stated readiness with the electoral bond data, adding that mapping of data was important to avoid discrepancies.