All posts tagged: State Bank

SBI refuses to disclose electoral bonds’ details under RTI Act

The State Bank of India (SBI) has refused to disclose under the Right to Information (RTI) Act the details of the electoral bonds furnished to the Election Commission (EC) of India, claiming that it is personal information held in a fiduciary capacity, even though the records are in the public domain on the poll panel’s website. Holding that the electoral bonds scheme was “unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary”, the Supreme Court directed the SBI on February 15 to furnish the complete details of the bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the EC, which would publish the information on its website by March 13. Also read: Electoral bonds | Biggest beneficiaries claim inability to reveal donor names On March 11, the court dismissed the SBI’s petition seeking an extension of the deadline and ordered it to disclose the details of the electoral bonds to the EC by the close of business hours on March 12. RTI activist Commodore (retired) Lokesh Batra approached the SBI on March 13 seeking the complete data of the electoral bonds in …

Electoral bonds scheme | Modi government trying to use SBI to bulldoze Supreme Court judgment, says Mallikarjun Kharge

“Modi government is using the largest bank of our country as a shield to hide its dubious dealings through Electoral Bonds,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said. | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Congress on March 5 attacked the Centre over the State Bank of India (SBI) moving the Supreme Court to seek more time to disclose electoral bond details, alleging that the Modi government is using the largest bank of the country as a shield to hide its “dubious dealings”. The SBI on March 4 moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension 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. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress’ position on the electoral bonds scheme is that it is “opaque, undemocratic and destroyed the level playing field”. “Modi government is using the largest bank of our country as a shield to hide its dubious dealings through Electoral Bonds,” he …