The Supreme Court has rejected petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the electoral bond schemes. The pleas were filed by NGOs -- Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) and others.
The petitioners had argued that there were "instances of quid pro quo arrangements between corporate and political parties and investigative agencies under the garb of the scheme.
Dismissing the petition, the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala observed that the underlying premise of the petitions were "assumptions at the present stage." The court said it would be "premature" and "inappropriate" to order an investigation under the monitoring of a retired judge when the remedies available under the ordinary law governing criminal law procedure have not been invoked, according to Live Law.
The court also turned down the pleas to direct the authorities to recover the donations received by political parties through electoral bonds and to re-open their income tax assessments. The bench said these things pertain to the exercise of statutory functions by authorities under the Income Tax Act. For the court to issue any such directions at this stage would amount to a conclusive opinion on disputed facts.
"The court entertained petitions challenging electoral bonds since there was an aspect of judicial review. But the cases involving criminal wrongdoing should not be under Article 32 when there are remedies available under the law," the bench said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for Common Cause and CPIL argued that the scheme revealed large-scale shady deals following the disclosures made as per the Supreme Court's order.
"What does an SIT exactly investigate at this stage? There is not even an FIR at this point of time. It would virtually be an open-ended enquiry. This case does not fall into the parameters of the cases where the Court has ordered SIT investigation," CJI said.
