Supreme Court Refuses To Set Up Probe Team In Electoral Bonds Scheme

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed petitions seeking a court-monitored SIT probe - under the oversight of a retired Justice of the top court - into the sale of (now banned) electoral bonds amid allegations of "quid pro quo" arrangements between political parties and corporate donors.

The court said individual grievances - referring to discrete claims of quid pro quo deals between a political party and a corporate organisation - "will have to be pursued on basis of remedies available under the law", which include options should authorities decline to investigate specific claims.

"At present, absent recourse to remedies available in law, it would be premature and inappropriate for this court (to interfere)... because intervention must proceed (after) failure of those remedies... at this stage the court cannot say if these normal remedies will not be efficacious," the court said.