SBI informs SC all electoral bonds details handed to EC

New Delhi: The State Bank of India, in compliance with the court's orders, notified the Supreme Court on Thursday that it has provided the Election Commission of India with all relevant election bond information.

The SBI chairman said in an affidavit filed before the top court that “on 21.03.2024, the State Bank of India has provided/disclosed all details of the electoral bonds which are in its possession and custody to the Election Commission of India”, Indian Express reported.

Details on the purchaser, such as their name, prefix, bond number, denomination, issue branch code, issue teller, serial number, URN number, journal date, purchase date, bond number, status, and expiration date, were included in the statement that "the information disclosed includes."

The data also contains information about political party redemptions, such as the political party name, the last four digits of the account number, prefix, denomination, pay branch code, and pay teller, in addition to the serial number and date of encashment.

It said that the “prefix and the bond number is in fact the alphanumeric number”.

The affidavit states that “the complete bank account numbers and KYC details of political parties are not being made public as it may compromise the security of the account (cyber security). Similarly, KYC details of purchasers are also not being made public for security reasons, apart from the fact that such information is not fed/collated in the system. However, they are not necessary for identifying the political parties”.

The affidavit added, “The SBI is now revealing information (along with that already disclosed) which will show: a) The name of the purchaser of the bond; b) The denomination and specific number of the bond; c) The name of the party that has encashed the bond; d) Last four digits of the bank account number of political parties; e) The denomination and number of the bond encashed.”

The bank said it “has now disclosed all details and that no details (other than complete account numbers and KYC details) have been withheld from disclosure in terms of the directions

contained in para 221 of the judgment dated 15.02.2024 read with order dated 18.03.2024” passed by the court.

On Monday, the Supreme Court pulled up SBI and ordered it to "disclose all details" to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding electoral bonds that were purchased or redeemed following its April 12, 2019, interim order, including their distinct alphanumeric codes.

The SBI was given notice by the court on March 15th, stating that the bank was "duty-bound" to provide the exclusive alphanumeric numbers.