Electoral Bonds judgment aftermath

In Association for Democratic Reforms v. UoI (Feb 2024), the Supreme Court struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme as unconstitutional. The aftermath created new RTI handles for election-funding transparency.

1. Struck down EBs as unconstitutional violation of Article 19(1)(a).
2. Directed SBI to disclose donor-bond pairings.
3. Directed ECI to publish the data.
4. Affirmed voter right to know funding sources.

• ECI for past EB disclosures — already on ECI website but RTI clarifies missing data.
• Income-tax department for donor-side scrutiny — limited per privacy.
• State election commissions for state-level expenditures.
• Audited accounts of national parties (Subhash Chandra Agrawal v. INC 2013).

• Cash donations < Rs. 2,000 — outside reporting; no paper trail.
• Political party internal records — see ongoing litigation.
• Electoral trusts — partial disclosure.

1. File to CEO (state election commissioner) for state-level.
2. Frame around published-data verification to avoid §8(1)(j).
3. Cite ADR (2024) + Subhash Chandra Agrawal (2013) as foundation.

1. Association for Democratic Reforms v. UoI (Feb 2024).
2. Subhash Chandra Agrawal v. Indian National Congress (CIC 2013).
3. ECI website disclosures.

Last reviewed: 25 April 2026.