A special court in Bengaluru has directed the police to register a FIR against Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allegedly for ‘extortion’ using electoral bonds. The Supreme Court annulled electoral bonds scheme earlier this year calling it unconstitutional and it violated principles of RTI.
Hearing a plea from Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath, an NGO in Karnataka, the Special Court for People’s Representatives directed Bengaluru police to register FIR against the finance minister and a few others on alleged charges of extortion. The court will next hearing the case on October 10.
The Supreme Court, earlier this year, struck down the electoral bonds scheme for funding political parties after it found the scheme violated Right to Information Act and Article 19 (1)(a). The apex court directed the State Bank of India to stop the issue of electoral bonds and publish details of donors.
Details emerged that the Bharatiya Janata Party received maximum donation under the scheme and some of its donors were facing probe by central agencies. According to reports, the BJP received Rs 6,986.5 crore of donations through the bonds.