SBI moves SC seeking extension of time to disclose details of electoral bonds
Last-ditch attempt to hide Modi's real face before polls, says Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Mar 4: State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties
In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the poll panel by March 6.
In an application filed before the top court, State Bank of India (SBI) contended that retrieval of information from "each silo" and the procedure of matching the information of one silo to that of the other would be a time-consuming exercise.
The plea submitted that due to stringent measures undertaken to ensure that the identity of the donors was kept anonymous, "decoding' the electoral bonds and matching donors to the donations made would be a complex process.
"It submitted that the data related to the issuance of the bond and the data related to the redemption of the bond was kept recorded in two different silos. No central database was maintained. This was done to ensure that donors' anonymity would be protected.
"It is submitted that donor details were kept in a sealed cover at the designated branches and all such sealed covers were deposited in the Main Branch of the Applicant bank, which is located in Mumbai," the plea said.
In a landmark judgement that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on February 15 annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information.
In its verdict months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the apex court ordered SBI to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed that the SBI must disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. The information should include the date of encashment and the denomination of the bonds and be submitted to the poll panel by March 6.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the government over the State Bank of India moving the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time to disclose electoral bond details, terming it a "last-ditch attempt" before the Lok Sabha polls to hide Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "real face".
The State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties. In its verdict last month, the top court directed the SBI to furnish the details to the poll panel by March 6.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi has put his entire force in order to hide the 'donation business'."
"When the Supreme Court has stated that it is the right of the people of the country to know the truth about electoral bonds, then why does the SBI not want this information to be made public before the elections?" the former Congress chief said.
Asking for time till June 30 to provide information that can be retrieved in one click shows that the whole matter is fishy, he claimed.
"Every independent organization of the country is becoming part of the 'Modani family' in trying to cover up their corruption," Gandhi alleged, adding, "This is the 'last ditch attempt' to hide Modi's 'real face' before the elections."
नरेंद्र मोदी ने ‘चंदे के धंधे’ को छिपाने के लिए पूरी ताकत झोंक दी है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 4, 2024
जब सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने कहा है कि इलेक्टोरल बॉण्ड का सच जानना देशवासियों का हक़ है, तब SBI क्यों चाहता है कि चुनाव से पहले यह जानकारी सार्वजनिक न हो पाए?
एक क्लिक पर निकाली जा सकने वाली जानकारी के लिए 30 जून तक…
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Bengaluru police arrest 6 from TN's Coimbatore in dacoity case
Bengaluru (PTI): Six persons were arrested from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district in connection with a dacoity case here, police said on Sunday.
The police seized two two-wheelers, four mobile phones, and two laptops worth Rs 3 lakh from the accused.
The accused allegedly trespassed into a house here and threatened the occupants with deadly weapons, earlier this month.
According to police, the complainant, a resident of Pavamana Nagar within the limits of Konanakunte Police Station, submitted a complaint on April 18. He was a college student, originally from Kerala. He, along with six other students, resided in the house and all were pursuing studies at the same college.
On the night of April 17, around late hours, six unknown persons aged between 20-25 years unlawfully entered the house. They assaulted the occupants with their hands and a knife, causing bleeding injuries, threatened them, and robbed them of Rs 10,000 cash, four mobile phones, two laptops, and a two-wheeler, they said, adding that based on the complaint, a dacoity case was registered.
During the investigation, the police conducted inquiries from various angles and gathered credible information through informants. the an official release said, adding, the accused were later picked up from Coimbatore.
The police recovered the stolen laptops, mobile phones, a two-wheeler belonging to the complainant, and another one used in the commission of the offence, they said.
"Upon interrogation, all six accused confessed to their involvement in the offence."
The six accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody, they added.
