Court directs FIR against Nirmala Sitharaman over electoral bond extortion allegations

THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK

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Bengaluru, Sept 28: A special court in Bengaluru ordered the registration of an FIR against Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She is accused of extortion through electoral bonds. According to reports, Adarsh Iyer from the Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (JSP), an NGO in Karnataka, filed a petition in Bengaluru requesting the court to direct action against Nirmala Sitharaman.

Media reports indicate that while hearing the petition, the court instructed the Tilak Nagar police station in Bengaluru to register the FIR. The next hearing in this case has been scheduled for October 10.

JSP filed petition in ACMM court in April

According to information, the JSP filed a petition in the 42nd ACMM court in April. The petition included complaints against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, officials from the Enforcement Directorate, BJP National President JP Nadda, former BJP Karnataka President Nalin Kumar Katil, and BY Vijayendra. The hearing for this case took place on Friday, September 27.

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The complaint alleges that between April 2019 and August 2022, approximately ₹230 crore was extorted from businessman Anil Agarwal’s firm and ₹49 crore from Aravind Pharmacy through electoral bonds.

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SC had banned the Electoral Bond scheme in February

Delving into the matter, the Supreme Court had immediately halted the Electoral Bond Scheme for political funding on February 15, 2024.

The court deemed the scheme unconstitutional, stating that maintaining the confidentiality of the bonds was a violation of the Constitution. It further ruled that it infringed upon the right to information.

The court also directed the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Election Commission to make all data related to electoral bonds public.

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