New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the petition challenging the notification that extended the time for the sale of electoral bonds for the last week of January. The bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vikram Nath said that a similar matter (plea challenging electoral bonds scheme) is pending before the court and the current plea shall also be tagged with the same and heard together.
"This has been pending since 2015. What is the pressing urgency that it has to be heard on the penultimate day before vacation?" asked Justice Gavai. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for the petitioner said that they have tried to get the matter heard a number of times but it has not happened.
ASG Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the central government also said that the matter needs to be heard at length. Advocate Bhushan said that whether the matter has to be referred to a Constitution bench or not also needs to be decided by the court. The court said that they will consider all of it in the last week of January 2023.
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A bnch of pleas challenging the electoral bonds scheme have been filed in the top court by CPI(M), ADR, and other NGOs. They have contended that the scheme would lead to an influx of money from private corporates and there is no transparency in the scheme that could help voters know who paid the political parties.
The Election Commission had also expressed its concerns in the affidavit filed before the top court regarding the scheme. It had said that there is a possibility for shell companies to open up just for the purpose of donating to political parties. When the matter had come up for hearing before the top court seeking a stay ahead of assembly elections, the centre had defended the scheme saying that it would rather bring transparency. The court had then refused to grant the stay.
