A new petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking to revisit and overturn its August 2, 2024 decision that dismissed requests for the confiscation of Rs 16,518 crore received by political parties through the 2018 electoral bond scheme. The review petition calls for a reevaluation and a fresh hearing of the case, citing concerns over constitutional violations and the retrospective impact of a previous landmark judgment.
The original plea, dismissed last year, was part of a broader series of cases challenging the legality of the electoral bonds scheme, a mechanism introduced by the government for funding political parties that has been steeped in controversy and debate over its transparency and potential for misuse.
In February 2024, the Supreme Court in a significant verdict (Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India) ruled the electoral bonds scheme unconstitutional, violating Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of speech and expression. This ruling by a five-judge Constitution bench, which did not specify that its findings were to be applied prospectively, implied that the scheme was void from its inception.
The review plea, prepared by advocate Jayesh K Unnikrishnan and senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, argues that the August 2 decision did not properly account for the retrospective nullification of the electoral bonds scheme. It contends that the existence of the scheme should not have been grounds for the dismissal of the petition seeking confiscation, as the scheme was considered non-existent from the start according to the ADR ruling.
Additionally, the plea highlights discrepancies in the judicial reasoning of the August 2 ruling, asserting that it indirectly modified the constitutional bench’s judgment by dismissing petitions based on the assumption of quid pro quo between donors and political parties as speculative. Evidence disclosed under court direction, according to the petition, clearly established such reciprocal arrangements, contradicting the court’s earlier conclusions.
The introduction of electoral bonds in 2018 was touted by the government as a step towards greater transparency in political donations, allowing donations to be made anonymously through the State Bank of India. However, this anonymity has been criticized for potentially obscuring the sources of political funding and increasing the risk of corruption.
