New Delhi, Mar 9 (IANS): NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on further sale of electoral bonds. The plea contends that there are serious apprehensions that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming state elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies.
ADR has urged the top court to direct the Centre not to open any further window for sale of electoral bonds under the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, during the pendency of this writ petition.
The petitioner said it filed an intervention application in March 2019 and also in November 2019. In October, last year, the organization filed an application for early hearing in view of the then Bihar elections. However, the matter has not been listed for more than a year now.
"The Electoral Bonds Scheme has opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate donations to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian as well as foreign companies which can have serious repercussions on Indian democracy", the plea argued.
The plea said the Finance Act of 2017 had introduced the use of electoral bonds which is exempt from disclosure under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, opening doors to unchecked, unknown funding to political parties. It argued that these amendments have removed the existing cap of 7.5 per cent of net profit in the last 3 years on campaign donations by companies and have legalised anonymous donations.
"Even loss-making companies now qualify to make donations of any amount to political parties out of their capital or reserves. Further, it opens up the possibility of companies being brought into existence by unscrupulous elements primarily for routing funds to political parties through anonymous and opaque instruments like electoral bonds", argued the plea filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan.
The plea contended that electoral bonds declared by political parties in their audit reports for the FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19, the ruling party had received more than 60 per cent of the total electoral bonds issued till date. "That so far more than Rs. 6,500 crores worth of EBs have been sold with the majority of donations going to the ruling party. That almost 99% of the EBs purchased are of value 1 crore and 10 lakh denominations which shows that it is not individual citizens but large corporations which are purchasing these bonds with a view to receive kickbacks from the government", added the plea.