SBI refuses to disclose SOP for sale, redemption of electoral bonds in RTI reply

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The State Bank of India (SBI) has refused to disclose its standard operating procedure for the sale and redemption of the electoral bonds that were issued to its authorised branches, citing the exemption given under "commercial confidence", according to an RTI response..

In an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj had sought the details of the standard operating procedure issued to the SBI's authorised branches on the sale and redemption of the electoral bonds...

"Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of Electoral Bond Scheme-2018 issued to authorised branches from time to time are internal guidelines with regard to sale and redemption of electoral bonds (meant for internal circulation only), which is exempted under section 8(1)(d) of the Right to Information Act," the response from M Kanna Babu, the central public information officer and deputy general manager of the SBI, said on March 30...

"It is shocking to note that even after the Supreme Court has struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional and explicitly directed and ensured disclosure of all details of the EBs purchased and redeemed, the SBI continues to deny important information about the operation of the electoral bonds scheme," Bhardwaj said...

"It is relevant to note that the SBI cited the standard operating procedures in its application dated March 4, when it sought additional time of four months to comply with the Supreme Court's judgment to disclose the details of the electoral bonds," she said...

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