SC to hear pleas on poll bonds on Dec 6

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on December 6 the plea of a Congress leader challenging a recent notification by which the sale of electoral bonds has been extended by 15 more days in the year of general elections to legislative assemblies of states and Union Territories (UTs) with a legislature.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Hima Kohli and J B Pardiwala said it will hear the fresh plea by Congress leader Jaya Thakur along with other pending petitions challenging the validity of the 2018 Electoral Bond Scheme on December 6. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. The scheme was notified in 2018.

According to provisions of the scheme, electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or a body incorporated or established in India.

Recently, a fresh notification was issued by the Centre amending the Electoral Bond Scheme of 2018 to provide “an additional period of 15 days” for the sale of electoral bonds “in the year of general elections to the legislative assemblies of States and Union Territories with legislature”.

Congress leader Jaya Thakur has challenged the fresh notification. Another bench headed by Justice B R Gavai is seized of pending petitions including the PILs by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, the CPI(M) and some other petitioners.

The Centre had on October 14 told the bench that the electoral bonds scheme is an absolutely transparent mode of political funding and it is impossible to get any black or unaccounted money through it.