Supreme Court refuses to review the decision related to electoral bonds, appeal related to it dismissed

The Supreme Court has rejected a petition concerning electoral bonds. This appeal in 2018 had asked for a review by the court against the judgments against the electoral bond scheme's political parties and the seizure of the amount of Rs 16,518 crore they had received.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra rejected the review plea by Khem Singh Bhati against the August 2, 2024 ruling by the top court. Last year, the top court rejected a request for the seizure of money withdrawn under the scheme.

"The review petition is dismissed as per the signed order. If there is any pending application, it shall be disposed of," the bench said on March 26. The apex court order made available recently also refused to accept Bhati's plea for an open court hearing in the case.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had on February 15 last year struck down the electoral bond scheme of anonymous political funding launched by the BJP government. Following the Supreme Court's verdict, the State Bank of India, the authorized financial institution under the scheme, shared the data with the Election Commission, which later made it public.

The electoral bond scheme was notified by the government on January 2, 2018. The scheme was introduced as an alternative to cash donations given to various parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.