SBI Submits Electoral Bonds Data to Election Commission After Supreme Court Rap

New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday evening submitted electoral bond data to the Election Commission of India following a Supreme Court order. The data will be released by the poll panel by Friday, as mandated by the court. However, SBI’s Chairman and Managing Director is yet to file an affidavit confirming compliance, which is expected to be submitted tomorrow.

The Supreme Court rejected SBI’s plea to extend the deadline and warned of contempt proceedings due to what it termed as “willful disobedience” of orders. Although the court refrained from immediate contempt action, it cautioned SBI about potential consequences if it failed to comply.

SBI had requested an extension until June 30, citing the need for time to collect and verify data stored in separate “silos” for confidentiality reasons. However, the court emphasized that the bank only needed to disclose donor details available at its Mumbai branch without conducting extensive matching exercises.

In a significant verdict last month, the Supreme Court declared the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional, citing violations of citizens’ right to information. SBI was directed to reveal data by March 6, with the poll panel tasked to make it public by March 13.