Chambers of Ishaan Garg
Ch. No. 217, Western Wing, District & Sessions Court, Tis Hazari, New Delhi, Delhi 110054
+91 8851742417, +91 8800386163
Supreme Court's Landmark Decision on Electoral Bonds: A Comprehensive Analysis
1. Landmark Decision
The Supreme Court invalidated the Electoral Bonds Scheme, citing it as a violation of the right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
2. The Constitution Bench
The decision was delivered by a Constitution Bench, which provided two concurring opinions.
3. Direction to Election Commission
The Court instructed the Election Commission to disclose the details of political parties that received donations through EBs by March 13, 2024.
4. Balancing Information Rights
The judgment balanced individuals' right to information with contributors' right to informational privacy.
5. Balancing Conflicting Fundamental Rights
The CJI revisited the methods courts have used to balance conflicting fundamental rights.
6. Public Interest Standard
The public interest standard has two aspects: weighing constitutional values of competing rights and comparing the values of the competing rights.
7. Case References
The CJI cited several cases to illustrate the standards developed to balance fundamental rights.
8. Shift in Justification Degree
The CJI referred to a case that marked a shift from the pre-proportionality stage to the proportionality stage.
9. Structured Proportionality Standard
The CJI recalled a case where the "structured proportionality" standard was used to resolve a conflict between two fundamental rights.
10. Single Proportionality Standard
The CJI discussed the single proportionality standard, which analyzes if a fundamental right can be restricted for State interest.
11. Balancing Two Fundamental Rights
The CJI referred to a case where he observed that to balance two fundamental rights, Courts must identify the precise interests favoring both disclosure and privacy.
12. Test for Balancing Two Fundamental Rights
The CJI outlined the test to be used by courts when resolving a conflict between two fundamental rights.
13. Application of the Test to the EB Scheme
The CJI applied the test to determine whether Clause 7(4) of the EB scheme balanced the right to informational privacy of a contributor and the right to information of a voter.
