Supreme Court declines immediate stay on Electoral Bonds Scheme

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a plea seeking an immediate stay on Electoral Bond Scheme. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant asked the Election Commission to file a response within two weeks.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, sought an immediate stay on the scheme in the backdrop of Delhi elections slated on February 8. He insisted that the scheme has operational illegally and thousands of crores of illicit money will be funneled through this scheme, before Delhi polls. Earlier, the apex court had agreed to hear a plea in January 2020 seeking a stay on the Electoral Bond Scheme notified by the Centre on January 2, 2018. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), had argued before a bench headed by the Chief Justice that the application puts on record the objections of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other authorities on the Electoral Bonds scheme which were ignored by the government and have been recently disclosed through an RTI. Bhushan insisted that around Rs 6,000 crore was collected under the scheme, red-flagged by the RBI and the Election Commission. (IANS)

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