Senior Advocate Urges President to Withhold Implementation of Supreme Court's Electoral Bonds Decision
Call for Presidential Reference Raises Concerns Over Impact on Democracy and Corporate Freedom
Senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association president Adish C. Aggarwala has asked President Droupadi Murmu to defer implementing the Supreme Court's order invalidating the electoral bonds program and to ask the court to reexamine its ruling.
Aggarwala, who also serves as the chairman of the All India Bar Association, has invoked Article 143 of the Constitution, which gives the President the authority to consult the Supreme Court on any legal matter that is relevant to the general public.
"Madam President, the directive given to the Election Commission of India to match up donations and disclose which political party received what amount from which corporate organization is the most concerning aspect of the Honorable Supreme Court's ruling in the Electoral Bonds Scheme case. It might be the death knell for our country's parliamentary democracy as well as corporate freedom, according to Aggarwala, who made this claim in a letter to the All India Bar Association.
According to the letter, corporations bought the bonds with the expectation that their privacy would be protected. It would be easy for the corporations to become victims if the identities of those who had donated to various political parties were made public. The names of corporates and the amount of money they have contributed to different parties might be made public, which could lead to them being harassed and singled out by others who have received less from them. This will be a betrayal of the assurances provided to them in exchange for their voluntary donations.
"Relatively speaking, revealing such private information will have a deterrent effect on corporate donations and involvement in the political process. Such an action would deter and hinder foreign corporate companies from opening stores in India or engaging in the democratic process while supporting winning horses, in addition to stopping additional donations, the letter stated.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
