Supreme Court of India eliminates anonymous election funding

India’s highest court has canceled a program that let people give money to political parties without revealing their identity. They said it goes against the constitution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government started electoral bonds in 2018 to make it clearer where political funding comes from.

But some people say that it has actually made the process more confusing.

Mr Modi’s BJP got a lot of money from bonds.

The plan was questioned in the highest court because it was seen as a way of changing how democracy works.

On Thursday, a group of five judges decided that electoral bonds go against the rights of citizens to get information from the government.

The top judge in India, DY Chandrachud, said the Right to Information law is not just about government matters, but also includes information needed for people to be part of democracy.

“Political parties are important in elections, and it’s essential to know where their money comes from when deciding who to vote for,” he said.

The court told the government-owned bank, State Bank of India, to stop selling those bonds. They also have to give the names of the people who bought the bonds and tell the Election Commission which political parties cashed them in, all within a week.

It was also noticed that electoral bonds were not the only way to stop the use of cash or “black money” and the government was asked to look at other options.

“The court said that people need to make sure the government is doing the right things and being transparent. This can only happen if the government is open and not keeping secrets. ”

The government said they made the policy to stop people from giving money to political parties in cash. They did this because many of India’s elections are paid for by private donations.

These bonds are given out by the government in set amounts of money, and can be bought from a state-owned bank at certain times of the year. They don’t charge interest and have to be paid back within a certain time.

People and businesses can donate money to political parties without telling anyone who they are.

Only political parties that are officially recognized and got at least 1% of the votes in the last election can get the bonds. They have to use the bonds within 15 days.

The people who like the plan say it makes it easy to see where the money for political parties comes from and keeps it clear, and also keeps the person who gives the money secret.

Critics say that the bonds are not completely anonymous because the state-owned bank knows who gives the money and who receives it. This makes it easy for the government in power to see the details and use the information to influence donors.

They also say that there is no public record of who bought each bond and who received the donation. This means taxpayers don’t know where the donations came from.

In court, people said that this stops citizens from knowing about how political parties get their money and encourages dishonest behavior.

The government said it was important to keep the names of donors secret, so they wouldn’t be punished by political parties. They also said the accusation was not true.

Up until now, electoral bonds totaling 160 billion rupees ($1. 9 billion; £15 billion) have been sold in 29 batches.

The BJP got 57% of the bonds, while the main opposition Congress party only got 10%.