Supreme Court Rejects Petitions for SIT Probe into Electoral Bonds Misuse

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a series of petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged misuse of the now-scrapped electoral bonds amid accusations of quid pro quo between political parties and corporate donors. Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, deemed it “inappropriate” and “premature” to order such a probe, emphasizing that other legal remedies had not been exhausted.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, argued for an SIT investigation monitored by a retired judge, citing the need for a thorough inquiry. However, senior advocate Vijay Hansaria countered, suggesting that reopening income tax assessments without concrete evidence would lead to broad and unfounded inquiries. The court held firm, stating that such an investigation would imply a premature conclusion on facts.

The Centre introduced the electoral bonds scheme in 2018 to replace cash donations to political parties, aiming to enhance transparency in political funding. Despite the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in February declaring the scheme “unconstitutional” and a violation of citizens’ right to information, the bench declined to entertain the petitions, reaffirming their decision under Article 32 of the Constitution.

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