Former CECs welcome SC judgment on electoral bonds, say ECI’s concerns addressed

Former CEC O P Rawat, who was the Election Commissioner in 2017, had raised concerns with the government when the scheme was being discussed. He said Thursday's judgment has “addressed all concerns of the EC about shell companies and loss-making firms funnelling money through electoral bonds”.

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Former Chief Election Commissioners (CECs) Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision of declaring the electoral bond scheme unconstitutional, noting that it addressed concerns raised by the Election Commission of India (ECI), including the potential for funnelling funds from shell companies and money laundering.

Former CEC O P Rawat, who was the Election Commissioner in 2017, had raised concerns with the government when the scheme was being discussed. He said Thursday’s judgment has “addressed all concerns of the EC about shell companies and loss-making firms funnelling money through electoral bonds”.

“The Supreme Court judgment has ushered in a big electoral reform. While it won’t have a major impact on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, as the polls are too close and parties would have mobilised resources already, the election arena will be improved,” Rawat said.

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He said the problem of black money in political funding, which was one of the arguments of the government in favour of introducing the scheme, had not been “obliterated” by the scheme. He said a cap on political parties funding would be a way to address that.

According to Finance Ministry documents obtained under RTI, Rawat had “expressed doubts that the electoral bonds can be misused by shell companies” during a meeting on September 22, 2017, where then Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg briefed the EC about the scheme.

Another former CEC, S Y Quraishi, said the judgment was a boost for transparency. “Every single objection that Constitutional experts had raised has been addressed by the Supreme Court in our favour. SBI has been asked to give the electoral bond information to the ECI to make it public. Political parties cannot drag their feet and delay the disclosure. It is a victory for democracy in India,” he told The Indian Express.

SY Quraishi writes | By striking down Electoral Bonds Scheme, Supreme Court has lived up to its role of democracy’s guardian angel

Former CEC Navin Chawla, too, welcomed the judgment. “It is an extremely important judgment because the ECI has for years been seeking means to increase transparency on where the funds for elections come from and where they’re spent. The electoral bond scheme was shrouded in mystery from the start. It went in the face of transparency, and that has been unravelled today.”

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He said the judgment comes at a critical time when political parties are preparing for the upcoming general elections. “The transparency that has been sought has been brought about now. There is no choice for the ECI but to defer to the SC judgment and make the details public. It is a step worth applauding,” Chawla said.

Even as T S Krishnamurthy echoed his former colleagues in his appreciation for the top court, he said the government should now bring in a transparent mechanism of electoral funding.

Asked what he thinks a good alternative would be, he said, “I have said this in the past that there should be a national election fund where people can donate and then this corpus can be used to conduct the elections. Corporates and individuals should not directly donate to a political party.”