Supreme Court to take up PIL for probe into electoral bonds scheme

New Delhi, July 19

More than five months after it struck down the electoral bonds scheme launched in 2018, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up on July 22 a PIL seeking a court-monitored investigation into the scheme.

Taking note of submissions made by advocate Prashant Bhushan on behalf of the Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud listed it for hearing on Monday when another PIL on the issue is also listed.

Terming the scheme as a “scam”, the petitioners sought a direction to the authorities to investigate the source of funding of “shell and loss-making companies” which made donations to various political parties. They urged the top court to direct the authorities to recover the money donated by such companies as part of “quid pro quo arrangements where these are found to be proceeds of crime”.

Another PIL filed in the top court earlier this month had urged it to issue directions to confiscate donations received by political parties through electoral bonds.