The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the State Bank of India (SBI) for not disclosing electoral bond numbers and thereby not fully complying with its previous judgment. The top court categorically stated that electoral bond numbers, which link donors to recipients, must be disclosed by the lender.
"They [SBI] have not disclosed the bond numbers. It has to be disclosed by the State Bank of India," said Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
Noting that the details shared by the SBI were incomplete, a five-judge bench issued notice to the bank to explain the lapse and posted the matter for hearing on Monday, March 18.
The directive came while the Supreme Court was hearing an application filed by the Election Commission (EC) seeking modification of its March 11 order where it had dismissed the SBI’s plea seeking an extension till June 30 to submit the data on electoral bonds.
The EC had asked the top court to return the electoral bonds data it had previously submitted in sealed covers, claiming that it cannot publish the said information on its website until the sealed envelopes are returned.
