State Bank of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms and Others

Bench: 5 — Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala, Manoj Misra

In Brief

The Supreme Court dismissed the State Bank of India's application seeking a three-month extension to disclose Electoral Bond purchase and redemption details. SBI argued that matching donor and recipient information across two separate data silos was complex and time-consuming. The Court held that the information was readily available in accessible form and that SBI's operational structure could not justify delay in implementing a landmark judgment declaring the Electoral Bond Scheme unconstitutional. The Court directed immediate disclosure by 12 March 2024 and warned of potential contempt proceedings for non-compliance with the earlier judgment's transparency directives.

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Constitutional Law Right to Information Electoral Bonds Political Funding Contempt of Court Transparency Arbitrariness

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