The Supreme Court has rejected a petition seeking review of its August 2, 2024 order, in which it refused to confiscate Rs 16,518 crore received by the political parties under the 2018 Electoral Bonds scheme.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra observed that it found no good reason to review its August 2 decision.
On August 2 last year, the Bench of the then CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice Pardiwala and Justice Misra dismissed the plea on the grounds that the petitioner had an alternative remedy to approach the appropriate forum governing criminal procedure or under Article 226 of the Constitution.
On February 15, 2024, in Association for Democratic Reforms vs UOI, the Apex Court held the 2018 electoral bonds scheme and the provisions in cognate legislations, including those in the Representation of the People Act, 1951; Companies Act, 2017 and the Income Tax Act, 1961 as ultra vires and violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.
In Common Cause vs Anr vs UOI, four petitions were filed, including by present petitioner, Advocate Dr. Khem Singh Bhati, under Article 32.
Through the said petition, a court-monitored investigation by the Special Investigating Team was sought into the “quid pro quo” arrangements between public servants, political parties, company officers and others, which was revealed on the disclosure of the data.
The writ petition contended that these funds, amounting to a staggering Rs 16,518 crore, were not mere donations but rather transactions that involved quid pro quo, where benefits were allegedly exchanged between political parties and corporate donors.
The petition detailed that a total of 23 political parties received approximately Rs 12,516 crore through these bonds from over 1210 donors, with 21 donors contributing more than Rs. 100 crores each.
The Association for Democratic Reforms made these details available, raising questions about the potential misuse of the scheme for undue advantages to donors at the expense of the public.
The petitioner requested the top court of the country to direct the Union government (Respondent no.1), Election Commission of India (Respondent no.2) and Central Vigilance Commission (Respondent no.3) to confiscate the amounts received under the scheme by the involved political parties.
The petition further sought the formation of a committee led by a former Supreme Court judge to investigate the alleged illegal benefits provided to donors by major political parties (Respondents no.4-25).
It alternatively asked for a reassessment of the tax exemptions claimed by these parties and the imposition of taxes, interest and penalties on the received amounts. The top court of the country dismissed the plea on the grounds that an assumption was made as to the quid pro quo arrangements and the Court could not be asked to embark upon a roving inquiry into the purchase of electoral bonds.
The Bench passed the order while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of statutory provisions embodying the Electoral Bond Scheme and the consequential amendments which were made to diverse statutes.
The Apex Court held that the only remedy for challenging such legislative changes was in the invocation of the power of judicial review.
It noted that allegations involving criminal wrong doing were of a distinct nature where recourse to the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution should not be taken as a matter of course, particularly, in view of the remedies available in law.
The post Electoral Bonds: Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking review of August 2024 order appeared first on India Legal.