The Supreme Court is expected to address pending petitions challenging the Electoral Bonds Scheme on September 19. The petitions, filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), are on the advance cause list of the court for that day.

The issue was last discussed in court on March 26, 2021, when a bench led by the then Chief Justice of India S A Bobde rejected an application from ADR seeking to halt any new sales of bonds before the Assembly elections. The court raised doubts about the anonymity of bond purchasers and emphasized that the operations of the Scheme are not completely hidden.

The court dismissed the request to stop new bond sales until the main petition challenging the scheme is resolved, noting that bonds have been issued in the past without issue and certain safeguards are in place.

Referring to its interim order from April 12, 2019, the court directed political parties receiving donations through Electoral Bonds to promptly submit details to the Election Commission. This order stemmed from ADR’s petition in September 2017.

The bench mentioned the Election Commission receiving bond contribution details and questioned whether complete anonymity in political financing is sustainable under the Scheme.

ADR argued that while initial bond purchases may be made through legitimate channels, subsequent purchases with black money could be used to fund political parties.