Supreme Court Refuses To Review Dismissal Of Plea To Confiscate Electoral Bond Donations

The Supreme Court recently dismissed a review petition filed by Advocate Dr. Khem Singh Bhati seeking a review of the Supreme Court's order dated August 2, 2024, whereby the plea to confiscate Rs.16,518 crores received by the political parties under the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme, which was held unconstitutional, was dismissed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, while dismissing the review petition, observed that the Court found no good ground and reason to review its August 2 decision.

The Supreme Court bench headed by former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Pardiwala and Misra while dismissing the petition had stated that the petitioner had an alternative remedy to approach the appropriate forum governing criminal procedure or under Article 226 of the Constitution in its August decision.

On February 15, last year, in Association for Democratic Reforms v. UOI, the Supreme Court held the 2018 electoral bonds scheme and the provisions in cognate legislations including those in Representation of the People Act, 1951, Companies Act, 2017 and the Income Tax Act, 1961 as ultra vires and violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.

Subsequently, in Common Cause v. Anr v. UOI, four petitions were filed including by Dr. Bhati under Article 32. Through the said petition, a court-monitored investigation by the Special Investigating Team was sought into the "quid pro quo" arrangements between public servants political parties, company officers and others which was revealed on the disclosure of the data.

In the writ petition, the petitioner had argued that these funds, amounting to a staggering Rs. 16,518 crores, were not mere donations but rather transactions that involved quid pro quo, where benefits were allegedly exchanged between political parties and corporate donors.

The petition detailed that a total of 23 political parties received approximately Rs. 12,516 crores through these bonds from over 1210 donors, with 21 donors contributing more than Rs. 100 crores each. The Association for Democratic Reforms has made these details available, raising questions about the potential misuse of the scheme for undue advantages to donors at the expense of the public. The petitioner has requested the Supreme Court to direct the Union (Respondent no.1), ECI (Respondent no.2) and Central Vigilance Commission (Respondent no.3) to confiscate the amounts received under the scheme by the involved political parties.

Additionally, the plea sought the formation of a committee led by a former Supreme Court judge to investigate the alleged illegal benefits provided to donors by major political parties (Respondents no.4-25). Alternatively, it asks for a reassessment of the tax exemptions claimed by these parties and the imposition of taxes, interest, and penalties on the received amounts. However, the petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court on grounds that an assumption was made as to the quid pro quo arrangements and the Court cannot be asked to "embark upon a roving inquiry into the purchase of the electoral bonds".

It had held: "This Court entertained a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of statutory provisions embodying the Electoral Bond Scheme and the consequential amendments which were made to diverse statutes. The only remedy for challenging such legislative changes lies in the invocation of the power of judicial review. Allegations involving criminal wrong doing, on the other hand, are of a distinct nature where recourse to the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution should not be taken as a matter of course particularly, in view of the remedies available in law."

Case Details: KHEM SINGH BHATI v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.|REVIEW PETITION (CIVIL NO. /2025(@ Diary No. 4035/2025) 

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