NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the plea by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) for a stay on issuance of electoral bonds, scheduled from April 1 to 10, ahead of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.
The SC said the electoral bonds had been issued several times before and that there is no evidence that has brought about its adverse impact on elections.
The bench had reserved the order in the case on March 24 after hearing arguments from all the parties in the case.
The apex court also said it no interim order is required in the case as it had earlier issued certain interim orders, including directing political parties to submit details of donations received through electoral bonds in sealed cover to EC.
The plea of NGO had said the sale of fresh electoral bonds should be stopped till the top court decided the three pending petitions challenging Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 which granted anonymity to donors to political parties.
An electoral bond is an instrument in the nature of a promissory note or bearer bond which can be purchased by any individual, company, firm or association of persons provided the person or body is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India.