Electoral bonds case: LIVE UPDATES from Supreme Court [Day 2]

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India is hearing the batch of petitions challenging the legal validity of the electoral bonds scheme, which facilitates anonymous donations to political parties.

The matter is being heard by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

An electoral bond is an instrument in the nature of a promissory note or bearer bond which can be purchased by any individual, company, firm or association of persons provided the person or body is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India.

The bonds, which are in multiple denominations, are issued specifically for the purpose of contributing funds to political parties in its existing scheme.

Electoral bonds were introduced through the Finance Act, 2017, which in turn amended three other statutes - the RBI Act, the Income Tax Act and the Representation of People Act - to enable the introduction of such bonds.

The Central government in its counter-affidavit has maintained that the electoral bonds scheme is transparent.

In March 2021, the Court dismissed an application seeking a stay on the scheme.

On October 16, the Supreme Court had decided to refer the matter to a Constitution Bench, in view of a legal issue involved relating to the passage of laws as money bills.

During the first day of hearing on Tuesday, the top court remarked that anonymity behind political donations under the Electoral Bonds Scheme could perhaps be aimed at preventing repercussions from parties to which a person or entity has not made donations.

Live updates from the hearing today feature here.