Chief Justice Chandrachud demands transparency, orders SBI to reveal alphanumeric IDs of political donors
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The State Bank of India is duty-bound and has to disclose the unique alphanumeric numbers of the electoral bonds received by political parties, the Supreme Court said on Friday while seeking a response from the bank for not doing so.
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A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said the apex court in its verdict on electoral bonds case had directed the disclosure of all the details of bonds, including the purchaser, amount and date of purchase.
SG Tushar Mehta speaks as a five-judges constitution bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud hears on the Electoral Bonds case. Pic/PTI
All details have to be furnished by the SBI, the CJI observed a day after the Election Commission put out the entire list of entities that have purchased electoral bonds for making political donations. The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued notice to the SBI and posted the matter for hearing on March 18.
“Who is appearing for the SBI? Because in our judgement, we had directed disclosure specifically of all details of the bonds including the purchaser, the amount and the date of purchase. They have not disclosed the bond numbers. That has to be disclosed by the SBI,” the CJI said, pulling up the bank.
The unique alphanumeric numbers would match those who had purchased the electoral bonds to the parties they were donating to.
Santiago: From labourer to Lottery King
Santiago Martin, who has emerged to be the top buyer of electoral bonds as per the Election Commission, has been under the ED radar for years. Also known as the ‘Lottery king’, Martin’s Future Games and Hotel Services bought electoral bonds worth R1,368 crore. Who is Martin? And what are his business interests? Martin, based in Coimbatore in western Tamil Nadu, is said to have started his life as a ‘labourer,’ and has a rags-to-riches story behind him. Although the lottery was banned in Tamil Nadu in 2003, many people still remember the name ‘Martin Lottery,’ for all the wrong reasons such as raids by authorities. In 2019, an accountant of a college in Coimbatore run by Martin was found dead following questioning by income tax authorities. His company, the Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt Ltd, is the master distributor of Sikkim lotteries.
Megha Engineering second-largest donor
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. Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) bought a total of Rs 966 crore worth of bonds between financial years 2019-20 and 2023-24 - the period when it won the project to build an all-weather road tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 as well as licenses to retail CNG and piped cooking gas in some cities. The unlisted private firm was founded in 1989 by industrialist Pamireddy Pitchi Reddy as Megha Engineering Enterprises, manufacturing pipes for municipalities. It changed its name to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure in 2006 and went on to execute big infrastructure projects like dams, natural gas distribution networks, power plants, and roads.
Reliance-linked firm third on list
Qwik Supply Chain Private Limited, a little-known company with registered address at Navi Mumbai’s Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and having links to Reliance Industries, was the third largest donor to political parties using electoral bonds. It bought R410 crore of electoral bonds between financial years 2021-22 and 2023-24 but Reliance said the company is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity. Electoral bond purchases and donations by Qwik Supply were behind Rs 1,368 crore of Future Gaming and Hotel Services - another little-known lottery company - and Rs 966 crore of Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infra, according to information uploaded by the Election Commission on its website. Publicly available information describes Qwik Supply as a manufacturer of warehouses and storage units. The unlisted private company was incorporated on November 9, 2000 with an authorised share capital of Rs 130.99 crore. Its paid-up capital is Rs 129.99 crore. A Reliance Industries spokesperson, said: “Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity.”
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