Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that the scheme is a means for channelising unaccounted black money in favour of the ruing party.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the parties to furnish 'forthwith' the details of electoral bonds received by a political party till date.
Holding that the electoral bonds scheme was not fool-proof, the Supreme Court said on Thursday that information about funds received by a political party is essential for voters to exercise their freedom to vote effectively.
May 30 was the deadline to submit the details as per a Supreme Court directive.
Democracy does not begin and end with elections and the integrity of election process is pivotal for sustaining the democratic form of government, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while striking down as unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme for political funding.
The government said that the massive amount of political donations were earlier made in cash by individuals or corporates using 'illicit means of funding'.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, the little-known Hyderabad-based firm that in recent years won the prestigious Zojila tunnel deal among other projects, forayed into city gas and acquired a media group, was the second largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds.
Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding.
Ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, the government on Friday approved the issuance of the 26th tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on April 3.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd made a number of electoral bond purchases close to the date of bagging crucial projects, including the all-weather Zojila tunnel that is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 4,500 crore in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will consider whether the pleas challenging the validity of the electoral bond scheme for political funding of parties can be referred to a Constitution bench for an "authoritative pronouncement".
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath said the matter requires to be heard.
These are the top buyers of the scrapped electoral bonds, the data for which was released by the Election Commission on Thursday.
While mostly corporates, including established names and little-known ones, went for the top-denomination bonds, there were also several individuals who bought multiple such bonds.
'Secrecy allowed in the electoral bonds scheme legalises anonymity'
The data provided by the SBI shows that highest purchase of electoral bonds for the year 2019 was reported from Mumbai where the bonds worth Rs 495.6 crore were sold.
"The amount collected from the sale of electoral bonds under the first issue of the scheme is Rs 222 crore as on March 9, 2018," Minister of State for Finance P Radhakrishnan said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
It is crucial to electoral democracy that the exercise of freedom to vote is not subject to undue influence, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while striking down as unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme for political funding.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking stay on further sale of electoral bonds ahead of assembly elections.
The Congress raised Rs 918.03 crore, of which 383.26 crore came through the debt instrument, which can be purchased from select branches of State Bank of India and donated to any political party.
In a new report, the ADR said the BJP declared a total income of Rs 3,623.28 crore during the financial year 2019-20, but spent only 45.57 per cent (Rs 1,651.022 crore) of it.
The report said the company, which was involved in transactions with and buying properties from the late Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi, gave Rs 10 crore to the BJP in 2014-15. Mirchi was a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim.
"This is a big scam. The country is being looted. Please allow us to speak," Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
Small parties have the capacity to play both ends against the middle. Puducherry could be heading that way, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Given the international practice, it is inexplicable why the government is going with anonymous electoral bonds.
Aranmula, Kerala, prepares for Assembly elections with a focus on development, health sector performance, and religious sentiments, as incumbent Health Minister Veena George faces challenges from Congress and BJP candidates.
As industrial plants boost the village's profile, locals demand priority hiring, alongside better storage facilities and water security.
He said the bearer bonds can be purchased by corporate donors and donated to political parties without revealing their identity.
'Narendra Modi -- a man with deep and vital experience of Indian politics -- has seen the BJP lose many elections between 1975 and 2015, and with every defeat, he learned lessons that made sure he would never allow his party to be defeated so easily again.'
'Samrat Chaudhury's limited independent standing within the party, his reliance on the central leadership for his elevation, and his lack of a personal mass base all point toward this outcome.'
AIADMK has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement with key NDA alliance members, including the BJP, PMK, and AMMK, for the upcoming elections, as announced by AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
A reading of the reports suggests that there is no standard practice for reporting political contributions and it is left to the company's discretion to report them as they find fit.
'Because, if someone remains an undertrial prisoner for five or seven years and is finally proven innocent, how will you compensate for the time lost?'
Political parties in West Bengal react to the Election Commission's reshuffle of senior administrative and police officials ahead of upcoming elections, with TMC criticising the move and BJP and CPI(M) welcoming it.
Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea challenging the validity of a provision of the Income Tax Act that allows political parties to receive "anonymous" cash donations below Rs 2,000.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his gratitude to the people of Maharashtra for supporting the NDA's agenda in the recent municipal corporation elections, which saw the BJP-led alliance secure significant wins.
The DMDK officially joined the DMK-led alliance ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, marking a significant political development in the state.
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday said the problem with electoral bonds scheme is that it provides for "selective anonymity" and "selective confidentiality" as the details are available with the State Bank of India (SBI) and can also be accessed by the law enforcement agencies.
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