Devise a system for political donations which addresses flaws of electoral bonds system: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday suggested that an alternative system could be devised for political donations to remove the "flaws" which plague the current electoral bonds system [Association for Democratic Reforms and Anr vs Union of India Cabinet Secretary and ors]..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra made the remark during the hearing of batch of pleas challenging the validity of electoral bonds which facilitates anonymous donations to political parties.CJI Chandrachud said that while the Court would not suggest going back to cash-only system, serious deficiencies in the existing system should be addressed. "We do not want to go back to a cash only system. We are saying do it in a proportionate, tailor made system which overcomes the serious deficiencies of this electoral bond system," the Court saidHowever, the Constitution Bench stressed that only the legislature or the executive can undertake such an exercise and the Court will not step into that arena. "You can design another system which does not have the flaws of this system ... they put a premium on opacity. You can still devise a system which balances out in a proportional way. How it is to be done is for you to decide. We will not step into that arena, that is not part of our function".While addressing Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, the Court highlighted five considerations that could be taken note of:The need to reduce the cash element in the election process;The need to encourage authorized banking channels;Incentivising use of banking channels;The need for transparency;Prevention of legitimation of kickbacks and quid pro quo..The Court reiterated that such balance has to be drawn only by the legislature or the executive. "Of course The balance has to be drawn by the legislature and by the executive; not by us. We are quite conscious of that," the CJI said..CJI Chandrachud also highlighted that earlier there used to be cap on the donations being made by the companies and they were allowed to donate only a percentage of net profit. But currently, even a company with zero turnover can also donate. Conceding there was a concern there, SG Mehta submitted that only a profit making company can donate.However, CJI also said that in absence of the requirement of allowing donation of only a specific percentage by a company, even a company with mere ₹1 profit can donate."It is a very valid concern," Mehta responded. However, he also added that the cap on donations led to contributions through shell companies..The hearing is ongoing and Attorney General for India R Venkataramani is now making arguments before the Constitution Bench. The live updates from today's hearing can be read here.Read our coverage of Day 1 of the hearing here and the Day 2 here..Watch Today's Hearing Here.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.