Centre Defends Electoral Bonds Scheme In Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Indian government has defended its electoral bonds scheme in the Supreme Court, stating that citizens do not have a right to know about the sources of political party funding. The scheme, introduced in 2018, allows anonymous donations to political parties.

Critics argue that the scheme enables questionable individuals and organizations to influence national politics without accountability.

In a note presented to a five-judge constitution bench, the government argued that the scheme complies with tax regulations and that policy decisions regarding political funding should be a matter for parliamentary debate.

The government also maintained that the scheme falls within the scope of Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which allows for reasonable restrictions on citizens’ fundamental rights.

The petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Rights and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), argue that citizens have a right to know about political party contributions as an aspect of their freedom of expression.

The Attorney-General, however, argued that citizens do not possess a general right to know everything without reasonable restrictions.