Electoral Bonds: Plea in SC seeks SIT probe into alleged quid pro quo between parties, corporates
- In Reports
- 08:19 PM, Apr 24, 2024
- Myind Staff
A request has been submitted to the Supreme Court, asking for a court-supervised investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) into suspected exchanges of favours between political parties, corporations, and officials of investigating agencies in the context of donations made through electoral bonds.
A five-judge constitutional bench of the highest court invalidated the government's electoral bonds program for anonymous political funding on February 15. According to a report from Bar and Bench, a petition has been jointly filed by Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, both registered societies.
As per a directive from the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India, the authorised distributor of electoral bonds, disclosed the data to the Election Commission, which subsequently released it to the public.
The electoral bonds scheme, introduced by the government on January 2, 2018, aimed to offer an alternative to cash donations to political parties, with the goal of enhancing transparency in political funding. The plea, submitted by advocate Prashant Bhushan, requests authorities to investigate the origins of funding from "shell companies and loss-making companies" to different political parties, as revealed by the electoral bonds data. This suggests a concern about potential misuse or dubious sources of funding being channeled through such entities to influence political processes.
The petition has additionally requested authorities to take action to reclaim the funds donated by companies to political parties if they are determined to be part of "quid pro quo arrangements" and are identified as proceeds of criminal activities. This underscores the concern about illicit exchanges of favours between companies and political entities and the potential involvement of such funds in criminal activities.
Image source: OneIndia
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