Electoral Bonds: SC to hear PIL for seizing money received by parties
New Delhi, July 21
The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a PIL seeking directions to confiscate donations received by political parties through the electoral bonds scheme that was declared unconstitutional five months ago.
The petition filed by Khem Singh Bhati is listed before a Bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra.
The Bench is also likely to take up another petition seeking a court-monitored investigation into the scheme.
Bhati has demanded that a committee headed by a former SC judge be constituted to investigate alleged quid pro quo between donors and the public authorities at the instance of political parties.
Alternatively, Bhati wanted the top court to direct the Income Tax Department to reopen assessment of all beneficiary parties from the financial year 2018-19 to 2023-24 and disallow the exemptions claimed by them under Section 13A of the I-T Act. He demanded income tax be levied on the amounts received by them through electoral bonds along with interest and penalty.
“The political parties used electoral bonds as a tool and method to extract money by conferring undue advantage to corporate houses by way of compromising their criminal prosecution or granting State largesse, at the cost of public exchequer and against public interest,” Bhati submitted in his petition settled by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria.
