The ECI should not only freeze all amounts received by political parties through the Electoral Bonds scheme but also force the SBI to disclose the details immediately, failing which the Commission should delay announcement of the election schedule

To

Shri Rajiv Kumar
Chief Election Commissioner
Election Commission of India (ECI)

Shri A C Pandey
Election Commissioner
Election Commission of India (ECI)

Shri Arun Goel
Election Commissioner
Election Commission of India (ECI)

Dear S/Shri Rajiv Kumar/ Pandey/ Goel,

Please refer to my letter of March 2, 2024 () requesting the Commission to freeze all amounts received by the political parties through the contentios Electoral Bonds scheme as (i) the apex court has held the scheme to be Constitutionally invalid and (ii) the sources of funds received through the scheme are unknown and could be tainted ones. 

I understand that the biggest beneficiary of the scheme, the BJP, is in possession of thousands of crores of rupees received through the scheme and, in order to ensure that such funds are not used in any manner, not only by the BJP but by the other political parties as well, I requested the Commission to invoke its authority under Article 324 and impose an unconditional freeze on those funds in order to restore the level-playing ground between the political parties on the one hand and, on the other hand, to safeguard the interests of the ordinary voters and individual candidates contesting elections without the support of private corporate entities.

I have come across a highly disturbing news reports that the SBI, the primary financial institution entrusted with the issue of Electoral Bonds, instead of complying with the direction of the apex court to disclose the details to the Election Commission within the stipulated time frame, has requested the court to grant it time till the end of June. 

Such an extra-ordinary request from the SBI suggests that the bank is being pressured by the ruling political executive to delay the disclosure in such a manner that the disclosure takes place after the ensuing Parliament and Assembly elections. This raises a host of concerns including the motives underlying the delay. In a way, the request made by the SBI confirms the suspicion that some of the sources of funds given through the Electoral Bonds scheme are such that a public disclosure of the details may expose many unsavoury aspects of the scheme itself.

Since Article 324 empowers the Election Commission to conduct elections in a free and fair manner, the Commission should not only direct the SBI to comply with the initial deadline laid down by the apex court but also indicate in unambiguous terms that the schedule for the ensuing elections would not be announced unless the SBI makes a public disclosure of the details of the donors, as otherwise, any delay on the part of SBI is likely to benefit the party in power and run counter to the idea of the Commission conducting elections in a free and fair manner.

In my view, the latest move on the part of the SBI seeking time, especially considering that the bank has had no hesitation time and again to take credit for digitising its databases, raises doubts about the intentions underlying it and it calls for immediate intervention from the Commission. If the Commission however chooses to ignore it and go ahead with an announcement of the election schedule, I am afraid that the Commission would not only be committing a serious breach of the Constitutional mandate that governs its functioning but also would be letting down the people of India. 

Article 324, as interpreted by the apex court in several cases, gives a “reservoir” of authority to the Commission and the Commission is obligated to invoke that authority in such an extraordinary situation to safeguard the democratic character of the electoral process.

I therefore appeal to you once again to

1. freeze all amounts lying with the political parties received through the Constitutionally invalid Electoral Bonds scheme,
2. direct the SBI to divulge immediately every minute detail of the sources of the funds conveyed through the Electoral Bonds scheme, failing which the Commission should not only penalise the SBI in an exemplary deterrent manner but also indicate through a public announcement that it would not declare the schedule of elections unless the SBI makes the prescribed disclosure within the stipulated time frame.

I hope that the Commission will stand by the people of India in the interest of saving our democracy.

Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Govt of India