Court Rejects Petition to Seize ₹16,518 Crore Received by Political Parties
New Delhi, April 4 — The Supreme Court has dismissed a review petition seeking the confiscation of ₹16,518 crore received by political parties through the now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme.A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra rejected the plea filed by petitioner Khem Singh Bhati. The order was passed on March 26, with the bench stating, “The review petition is dismissed in terms of the signed order. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.”
The top court also turned down Bhati’s request for an open-court hearing, reaffirming its stance without further deliberation.
Background: Apex Court’s 2024 Ruling
The Supreme Court had earlier, on August 2, 2024, refused to entertain Bhati's original petition which sought to confiscate funds received under the electoral bonds scheme. This decision has now been upheld in the review proceedings.Earlier, on February 15, 2024, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by former Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud scrapped the electoral bonds scheme, branding it unconstitutional. The scheme, introduced by the BJP government and notified on January 2, 2018, aimed to provide a more transparent alternative to cash donations for political parties but was widely criticized for enabling anonymous funding.
Post-Ruling Developments
Following the landmark judgment, the State Bank of India, the designated financial institution under the scheme, was directed to hand over the relevant data to the Election Commission of India, which subsequently made the donor and recipient details public.The dismissal of this latest review petition solidifies the Supreme Court’s firm position on the matter, bringing an end to yet another legal challenge surrounding the controversial scheme.
