SCBA President urges President Murmu to seek presidential reference of SC judgement in Electoral Bonds case

New Delhi : Senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Adish C. Aggarwala on Tuesday urged President Droupadi Murmu to seek a presidential reference of the Constitution Bench judgement in the Electoral Bonds case.

In his letter written on the letterhead of the All India Bar Association, Aggarwala said that revealing the names of corporates would render them vulnerable to victimisation by those parties which had received less contribution from them and would have a chilling effect on corporate donations and participation in the democratic process.

“Besides drying up further donations, such an act (of disclosing names of corporates and their quantum of contributions to various parties) would discourage and dissuade foreign corporate entities from setting shops in India or participating in the democratic process but contributing to winning horses," he said in the letter to President Murmu.

It added that if the Constitution Bench judgment is enforced by retrospectively releasing all sensitive information, the same will "shatter the reputation the nation enjoys in the international arena".

"I, therefore, request your good self to withhold the enforcement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment in the Electoral Bonds case by seeking a Presidential Reference on the matter. Till the Reference is heard and answered, the Hon’ble Supreme Court shall not give effect to its verdict of March 11, 2024," he said in the letter.

Article 143 of the Constitution confers advisory jurisdiction on the Supreme Court and provides for the power of the President to consult the apex court on a question of law or fact of public importance.

On Monday, a Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose the information on encashed Electoral Bonds to the Election Commission by Tuesday.

“As regards, the Election Commission of India, we direct that the ECI shall compile the information and publish the details on its official website no later than by 5 pm on 15 March 2024,” ordered the 5-judge Bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Padriwala and Manoj Misra.