The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a five-judge constitution bench a batch of PILs challenging the Centre’s electoral bonds scheme that critics allege gives unbridled powers to anonymous donors to make donations to political parties without any accountability.

“In view of the importance of the issues raised in this batch of petitions and with regard to Article 145(3) of the Constitution, the matter be placed before a bench of at least five judges. The matter will be retained on October 31,” the bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said.

The bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India on the administrative side for constituting the appropriate bench.

Though the formal order was not uploaded, it is clear that the five or seven-judge bench, as the case may be, will hear the matter from October 31 as it was originally listed before a three-judge bench on that day by the earlier order passed by the bench on October 10.

Under Article 145(3): “The minimum number of judges who are to sit for the purpose of deciding any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution or for the purpose of hearing any reference under Article 143 shall be five:

“Provided that, where the court hearing an appeal under any of the provisions of this chapter, other than Article 132, consists of less than five judges and in the course of hearing of the appeal the court is satisfied that the appeal involves substantial question of law as to the interpretation of this Constitution the determination of which is necessary for the disposal of the appeal, such Court shall refer the question for opinion to a Court constituted as required by this clause for the purpose of deciding any case involving such a question and shall on receipt of the opinion dispose of the appeal in conformity with such opinion.”

At the earlier hearing, the bench had suggested that the matter may be referred to a Constitution bench of seven or nine judges, which will start hearing issues related to what constitutes a “money bill”.

Besides the Association for Democratic Rights (ADR), the CPM and certain other individuals had challenged the validity of the electoral bonds brought in by the NDA government by way of amendments made to the Finance Act, 2017 and earlier Finance Act, 2016, both passed as money bills, and which according to the petitioners have opened doors to unlimited political donations.

The ADR, the main petitioner, had in 2021 alleged that the ruling BJP had received more than 60 per cent of the total electoral bonds issued till date. The ADR had claimed that electoral bonds worth more than Rs 6,500 crore had been sold, with the majority of donations going to the ruling party. It had also said that almost 99 per cent of the electoral bonds purchased are valued between Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 lakh, which suggests that large corporations, not individuals, were purchasing them.