Electoral Bonds Scheme Unconstitutional Verdict (Feb 2024 – Present)
Five-judge Supreme Court Bench headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud unanimously struck down the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional under Article 19(1)(a). SBI and ECI disclosures exposed ₹16,518+ Cr in anonymous political funding, shell company donations, ED/IT raid quid pro quo links, and BJP's ₹6,060 Cr (57%) share.
Victims / Impact
1.4 Billion Voters
Budget Impact
₹16,518+ Cr in disclosed corporate political bonds
Updates Filed
42 updates
Verified Case Findings
- •Unanimous Constitutional Strike Down: 5-judge Supreme Court Bench (CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Pardiwala, Manoj Misra) ruled the scheme violated voters' Right to Information under Article 19(1)(a) and enabled corrupt quid pro quo.
- •Top Political Encashment Shares: ECI data revealed ₹16,518+ Cr encashed between 2019–2024: BJP received ₹6,060.51 Cr (57%), TMC ₹1,609.53 Cr, INC ₹1,421.86 Cr, BRS ₹1,214.70 Cr, and BJD ₹775.50 Cr.
- •Top Corporate Donors & Enforcement Agency Raids: Future Gaming (Santiago Martin) donated ₹1,300 Cr (including ₹100 Cr 7 days after ED raid). Megha Engineering (₹966 Cr) and Vedanta (₹400 Cr) also purchased bonds during active ED/IT investigations.
- •Abolition of Corporate Profit Ceilings: Finance Act 2017 amendments removing the 7.5% net profit cap on corporate donations and exempting detailed donor disclosures were annulled.
- •Dismissal of Retrospective Seizure Pleas: Supreme Court rejected pleas seeking retrospective confiscation of encashed funds or SIT probes into past commercial allocations.
Uncovered Fraud Networks & Schemes
Enforcement Agency Raids & Quid Pro Quo Buying
ECI Data / Wikipedia (March 2024)Multiple donor firms (Future Gaming, Megha Engineering, Vedanta) purchased high-value electoral bonds shortly after being subjected to Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Income Tax raids.
Shell Companies & Loss-Making Corporate Donors
ADR Analysis / The Hindu (March 2024)Abolition of the 7.5% net profit cap allowed loss-making and newly formed shell companies (such as Qwik Supply Chain) to donate hundreds of crores anonymously.
Money Bill Bypass of Parliamentary Scrutiny
Supreme Court Observer (Feb 2024)Amendments to RBI Act, Companies Act, RoPA, and Income Tax Act were introduced via Finance Act 2017 Money Bills to circumvent Upper House (Rajya Sabha) scrutiny.
Case Status
Verified Sources
4 CitedFull background of 2018 Electoral Bonds scheme, Finance Act 2017 amendments, 5-judge Supreme Court unconstitutional ruling, SBI disclosure data, and corporate donor raid correlations.
5-0 unanimous judgment led by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud declaring anonymous political funding violative of voters' Right to Information under Article 19(1)(a).
Detailed breakdown of CJI Chandrachud and Justice Sanjiv Khanna's opinions striking down unlimited corporate contributions and anonymous donor provisions.
Supreme Court directs SBI to stop bond issuance immediately and hand over alphanumeric donor-recipient match logs to ECI for online publication.