Centre approves issuance of 16th tranche of electoral bonds

The Ministry of Finance has informed that the issuance of the 16th tranche of electoral bonds will be open for sale from April 1-10, 2021. The issuance of the Electoral Bonds has been notified at the time when Assembly Elections is in process in four states and a Union territory.

Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State will be eligible to receive the electoral bonds. The electoral bonds will be enchased by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorized bank.

According to the press release issued by the Ministry of Finance, the electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is an Indian citizen or incorporated or established in India. It said, the State Bank of India (SBI) in the XVI phase of sale has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches w.e.f. April 1-10, 2021.

The release added, it should be noted that Electoral Bonds shall be valid for 15 calendar days from the date of issue and no payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible political party in its account shall be credited on the same day.

Earlier on March 26, 2021, the Supreme Court had rejected the plea by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) for a stay on issuance of electoral bonds, scheduled from April 1-10, 2021, amid the assembly elections in five states. The plea was heard by a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde.

The apex court said that the electoral bonds had been issued several times before and that no evidence has brought about its adverse impact on elections. The Supreme Court added that no interim order is required in the case as it had earlier issued certain interim orders, including directing political parties to submit details of donations received through electoral bonds in a sealed cover to EC. The bench had reserved the order in the case on March 24, 2021, after hearing arguments from all the parties in the case.

The plea of NGO had said the sale of fresh electoral bonds should be stopped till the top court decided the three pending petitions challenging Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 which granted anonymity to donors to political parties.