Supreme Court to hear petitions seeking SIT probe into electoral bonds scheme on July 22

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear on July 22, a plea for a court-monitored investigation into the electoral bonds scheme.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter before a bench presided over by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.

He submitted that a petition relating to the plea filed seeking SIT probe into the donations made under the scheme may be heard on Monday when the other one was coming up.

In April, 2024, a PIL was filed jointly by NGOs 'Common Cause' and 'Centre for Public Interest Litigation' through advocate Bhushan which claimed the bulk of the bonds appeared to have been given as quid pro quo arrangements by corporates to political parties for getting contracts or licences or leases or clearances or approvals worth thousands and sometimes lakhs of crores.

The plea asked the Supreme Court to direct an SIT probe into alleged pay offs and quid pro quo arrangements between corporates and governments, "shockingly, in conspiracy with investigative and regulatory bodies, as revealed in donations made to political parties through the Electoral Bonds Scheme".

On PILs by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms and others, the Supreme Court's five-judge Constitution bench had on February 15, 2024 quashed the Electoral Bonds scheme and directed the SBI to provide all the data related to it to the Election Commission for uploading on its website.

It was revealed that electoral bonds worth about Rs 16,518 crore were encashed by the political parties.

Another petition was filed in the Supreme Court this month for a direction to confiscate the money received by political parties under the scheme.

This plea filed by Khem Singh Bhati also sought a direction to set up a committee headed by a former judge of the apex court to investigate the alleged "illegal benefits" conferred on the donors by public authorities.