The Supreme Court to decide Thursday the legal validity of the Central government's ‘Electoral Bond’ scheme

The Supreme Court is poised to deliver its verdict tomorrow on the validity of the Central government's 'Electoral Bond' scheme, which permits anonymous funding to political parties. A five-judge Constitution bench will rule on a series of pleas challenging the legality of this scheme.

Petitions filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, Common Cause, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) form the basis of the challenge. The Supreme Court concluded hearings on these matters last November.

Following the Supreme Court's directive, the Election Commission compiled and submitted details of all Electoral Bonds exchanged by various political parties in a sealed cover.

The Electoral Bonds scheme, initiated by the government on January 2, 2018, aimed to provide an alternative to cash donations to political parties, thereby enhancing transparency in political funding. Under this scheme, citizens or corporate entities can purchase bonds from a bank and donate them to a political party, which can then redeem them for cash.

In the fiscal year 2022-23, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reportedly received approximately ₹1,300 crore through electoral bonds, constituting 61% of its total contributions, which amounted to ₹2,120 crore. Similarly, the Congress received anonymous funding totaling ₹171 crore in 2022-23, a decrease from ₹236 crore in the previous fiscal year.

The Supreme Court's impending decision will have significant implications for the future of political funding transparency in India.