SCBA president writes to CJI, seeks suo motu review of verdict on electoral bonds

New Delhi: Senior advocate and bar leader Adish C Aggarwala has written a letter to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud urging him to suo motu review the Supreme Court’s direction that the poll panel shall publish the information shared by the State Bank of India on its official website in the electoral bonds case.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by the CJI, which assembled on Friday to hear a plea of the Election Commission seeking modification of the operative portion of its March 11 order in the electoral bonds case, asked Aggarwala to mention the case again on March 18.

Aggarwala, who is also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the All India Bar Association (AIBA), wrote the letter to the CJI on March 14 in his personal capacity.

In a landmark verdict delivered on February 15, a five-judge constitution bench headed by the CJI had scrapped the Centre's controversial electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional", and ordered disclosure by the EC of donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients by March 13.

Ordering the closure of the scheme, the top court directed the SBI, the authorised financial institution under the scheme, to submit by March 6 the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 till date to the Election Commission.

Aggarwala has requested the CJI to suo motu review the direction which said the Election Commission shall publish the information shared by the SBI on its official website by March 13.

“I totally welcome the decision passed by the five-judges bench of Supreme Court, as invalidating the said scheme was much required, due to the reasons as have been enumerated in the judgment, except the direction that the ECI shall publish the information shared by the SBI on its official website within one week of the receipt of the information, that is, by 13 March, 2024 passed in the judgment,” he said.

He said the apex court verdict directing “abrupt disclosures of identity of corporate donors, the amount of donation and donee political party will have an adverse impact on the said corporate donor”.

Aggarwala said revealing the names of corporate donors and amount of donation would render the corporates vulnerable for victimisation.

“I, therefore humbly request your lordship to subject the February 15, 2024 verdict… to suo motu review of its direction: ...The ECI shall publish the information shared by the SBI on its official website within one week of the receipt of the information, that is, by 13 March, 2024 made in the judgment,” he said in his March 14 letter.

“I further humbly clarify that I am making this prayer for suo motu review of judgment dated February 15, 2024 is not on behalf of Supreme Court Bar Association but it is in my individual capacity being the Chairman of All India Bar Association, President of Supreme Court Bar Association and former Vice-Chairman of Bar Council of India,” he said.

On March 12, Aggarwala had written to President Droupadi Murmu urging her to seek presidential reference of the apex court judgement in the electoral bonds scheme case and not to give effect to it unless the top court has reheard the matter.

Article 143 of the Constitution confers advisory jurisdiction on the Supreme Court and empowers the President of India to consult the top court.

If it appears to the president that a question of law or fact has arisen, or can arise in future which is of public importance and it is beneficial to obtain the opinion of the top court, the president may refer the question for its consideration.

Later, the SCBA had condemned the views expressed by its president in his letter to President Droupadi Murmu urging her to seek presidential reference of the apex court judgement in the electoral bonds scheme case.

Distancing itself from Aggarwala's views, the executive committee of the bar body, in its resolution issued on March 12, had made it clear that the members of the panel neither authorised the SCBA president to write the letter nor support the views expressed in the communication.

The top court had on March 11 ordered the SBI to disclose the details of the electoral bonds encashed by political parties to the EC by the close of business hours on March 12.

While dismissing the SBI's plea seeking extension of time till June 30 to disclose the details, it had also directed the EC to publish the information shared by the bank on its official website by 5 pm. on March 15.

The EC put up on its website the data on electoral bonds on Thursday, a day before the deadline.