A Bengaluru court, on Friday, September 27, ordered that a First Information Report (FIR) be filed against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on a complaint that she allegedly extorted money for the BJP through Electoral Bonds using Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by activist Adarsh Iyer, Co-President, Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath, a non-government organisation. The petition also names the ED, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, the  Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra, and former BJP MP Naleen Kumar Kateel. 

It is however unclear if an FIR can be registered, and if registered, if the police can conduct an investigation against the Finance Minister without approval from the President. And in Vijayendra’s case, this sanction will have to come from the Karnataka Governor as he is an MLA.

The Electoral Bond scheme was introduced in 2017 through the Finance Act, and was struck down as unconstitutional in February 2024. The complaint alleged that the Finance Minister conspired with the ED – which operates under the Ministry of Finance – and several individuals holding constitutional posts to conduct raids on aluminum and copper giants Vedanta, Sterlite, and Aurobindo pharma to extort money through electoral bonds amounting to over 8000 crores.

Electoral bonds are similar to promissory notes and allow donors to buy these bonds from the SBI and donate anonymously to political parties. These bonds will not have the donor’s name and neither are political parties required to disclose the source of these bonds.

Hyderabad-based businessman P Sarath Chandra Reddy, director of Aurobindo Pharma, was arrested by the ED in the Delhi liquor scam on November 11, 2022. Days later, on November 15, 2022, Aurobindo Pharma bought Rs 5 crore worth of electoral bonds, which were encashed by the BJP on November 21. 

After turning approver in June 2023, Aurobindo Pharma donated additional Rs 25 crore to the BJP in November 2023. In total, the company purchased Rs 52 crore worth of electoral bonds of which Rs 34.5 crore went to the BJP, Rs 15 crore to Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and Rs 2.5 crore to the Telugu Desam Party.