THE NEWS FREEDOM
NEW DELHI, MARCH 21
The State Bank of India informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it has complied with the directive, furnishing all relevant details regarding electoral bonds to the Election Commission. In a compliance affidavit submitted to the apex court, the bank’s Chairman, Dinesh Kumar Khara, clarified that while comprehensive bank account numbers and KYC details of political parties have been shared, they have refrained from publicizing this information to safeguard account security, particularly against cyber threats. Khara emphasized in the affidavit that the KYC details of purchasers are also being kept private for security reasons, and clarified that such information isn’t necessary for identifying the involved political parties, as it’s not integrated or collated within the system.
The Supreme Court on March 18 issued a directive to the State Bank of India (SBI) to reveal the unique alphanumeric codes associated with electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI). Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, leading a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, had addressed the matter during the hearing, instructing the Chairman and Managing Director of SBI to file an affidavit by 5 pm on March 21. The affidavit should confirm that the bank has provided all pertinent details of the bonds to the ECI, as mandated by the Supreme Court.