SC dismisses plea, asks SBI to file info in a day

Directs ECI to publish details shared by bank on website on March 15

- BHAVINI MISHRA

The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on State Bank of India (SBI) for requesting more time to furnish details regarding electoral bonds and told the lender to disclose the information to the Election Commission of India (ECI) by March 12, Tuesday.

With this, the plea by SBI seeking an extension till June 30, 2024, to give the details of electoral bonds for the period from April 12, 2019, to February 15, 2024, has been dismissed. The ECI is supposed to publish the details on its website by 5 pm on March 15. The court asked the bank how much work had been done till now to comply with its February 15 judgment.

"Today is March 11. In the last 26 days, what is the extent of matching done by you? The affidavit is silent on this. We expect a degree of candour from SBI," said Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for SBI, said the bank was finding the job of reconciling the donor details with the redemption details challenging because they were stored in separate information silos.

In reply to this, the CJI pointed out the court's direction did not require the bank to conduct a "matching exercise" but simply to disclose the information. The CJI noted that the bank had all the necessary details, as evidenced by its KYC records.