The Election Commission of India (ECI) complied with the Supreme Court’s deadline by making electoral bond details accessible on its website. Acting upon the court’s directive, the State Bank of India (SBI) furnished bond information to the ECI on March 12 and submitted an affidavit to the court on March 13. Notably, it came to light that a company named ‘Hub Power’, had bought electoral bonds in India in April 2019. People on social media started speculating it to be a Pakistani company with a similar name. However, the case might be different.
The claims circulating on social media have falsely linked Hub Power, a company that purchased electoral bonds in India, to Pakistan. The confusion arose when details of electoral bonds became accessible on a website. However, a closer examination of the records reveals a different story.
The Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) associated with Hub Power reveals it to be under the legal name of Ravi Mehra, operating as the “Hub Power Company.” The company’s registration under GSTIN was cancelled suo-moto effective from 12/11/2018. The administrative office’s jurisdiction is in Delhi, India.
The point to be noted, we don’t know if they enchased these bonds or not. If they did, we have no information about to which political party these bonds were donated to. That matching isn’t available through this data
Despite viral misinformation suggesting a connection to Pakistan, the records clearly indicate Hub Power’s Indian origin and its activities within the country’s regulatory framework.
Electoral bond details disclosed publicly
The poll panel reported that they uploaded the data on an “as is where is basis”. Anyone can access the information on this link.
Public disclosure of electoral bonds purchased from April 12, 2019, to January 11 has been made available. The Election Commission has published details regarding the denominations of electoral bonds cashed in between April 12, 2019, and January 24. This action by the Election Commission aligns with a Supreme Court ruling issued on February 15, which declared the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional due to concerns about potential quid pro quo arrangements between donors and political entities. Following the court’s decision, the State Bank of India (SBI) provided the details of political parties receiving electoral bonds from April 12, 2019.
The deadline for this submission was initially set for March 6, but the SBI requested an extension until June 30 post-verdict. However, the court denied the extension plea on Monday, instructing the SBI to provide the data to the Election Commission by March 12. The SBI complied with this directive, submitting the necessary information within the stipulated timeframe. The information stats that buyers purchased a total of 22,217 electoral bonds, and political parties redeemed 22,030 of them between April 1, 2019, and February 15, 2024.
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