The Supreme Court has asked the State Bank of India to reveal each detail it has on electoral bonds, including the alphanumeric and serial number corresponding to each bond, LiveLaw reported. 

The court has told the SBI to file an affidavit on Thursday that no detail has been withheld. It had earlier dismissed the SBI’s request seeking an extension to furnish electoral bond details, following which the Election Commission published two sets of data and the information earlier submitted to the court in sealed cover.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought directions against “social media commentary” on the data.

“How this court's judgment is playing out is something which it must be informed of…Now the witch-hunting has started at some other level, not at the government-level. Those before the court have started giving press interviews deliberately embarrassing the court. A barrage of social media posts intended to cause embarrassment has started. Statistics can be twisted in any manner. Based upon twisted statistics, all kinds of posts are made. Would your lordships consider issuing a direction,” he said, according to LiveLaw.

However, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud reportedly said that “as an institution, our shoulders are broad enough to deal with social media commentary. Our intent was disclosure…We are governed by a rule of law.”

Appearing for FICCI and ASSOCHAM, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, meanwhile, asked how the information can be asked to be disclosed when there was a guarantee of anonymity.

But CJI Chandrachud said “there is only one answer”. “With effect from April 12, 2019, we directed the collection of details. Everyone was put on notice at the time. This is why we did not ask the disclosure of the bonds sold prior to this interim order. This was a conscious choice by this constitution bench,” he said, according to LiveLaw.

Appearing for SBI, advocate Harish Salve said the bank’s current status of the disclosure was only based on its understanding of the court’s interim directive for April 2019.

CJI Chandrachud said, “When we say ‘all details,’ it includes all conceivable data. This interim order has merged with our final judgment. We will clarify that and say that the State Bank of India will not only file the bond numbers but also ask it so submit an affidavit saying that it has not suppressed any details. The onus should not be on the court.”

The CJI earlier said the court’s judgment had asked the SBI to disclose all details. “That includes the bond numbers as well. The bank cannot be selective in disclosing all details. Do not wait for the orders of this court.”

Newslaundry has joined hands with The News Minute, Scroll and independent journalists to explore the data released so far and decode the pattern of political funding through electoral bonds. Read here.