Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Unbonded: On the striking down of the Electoral Bond Scheme by the Supreme Court

Unbonded: On the striking down of the Electoral Bond Scheme by the Supreme Court

The electoral bonds verdict is a blow for freedom of expression (अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता)

Anonymous (बेनाम, गुमनाम) donations of high value tend to undermine (कमज़ोर कर देना) electoral democracy (चुनावी लोकतंत्र) and governance (शासन) as they facilitate (आसान कर देना) a quid pro quo (“something for something”; support in exchange for something) culture involving donors and beneficiaries. In striking down the Electoral Bond Scheme (EBS) under which anyone could buy electoral bonds (an electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India. it allows limitless, secret donations to political parties, including (and especially) by corporations) and donate them to political parties for encashment (नकदीकरण), the Supreme Court of India has recognised (पहचानना) this malaise (अस्वस्थता) and struck a blow for democracy and transparency (पारदर्शिता) in political funding. The Court found that the entire scheme violates (उल्लंघन करना) the Constitution (body of law; system of rules; regulations, fundamental principles, charter), especially the voters’ right to information. It further found manifestly (स्पष्टतः) arbitrary (मनमाना), the amendment to the Companies Act that removed the cap of 7.5% of a company’s profit that can be donated to political parties without any requirement to disclose (खुलासा करना, खोलना) details of the recipient parties in its profit and loss accounts. It has also mandated (make something mandatory; to officially require something) disclosure (report, release, publishing, declaration, announcement) of donation details since 2019. The judgment is one more in a long line of verdicts the Court has handed down to promote (support, endorse, recommend, foster, champion, advocate) voter rights and preserve (conserve, protect, save, safeguard, take care of) the purity (virtue, morality, ethicality, integrity, honesty) of elections. Its earlier interventions (the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference) led to the featuring (the displaying, showing, highlighting, presenting) of the ‘None of the Above (the option which enables the voter to officially register a vote of rejection for all candidates who are contesting. If a voter chooses to press NOTA it indicates that the voter has not chosen to vote for any of the party)’ option on the ballot (vote, poll), the removal of the protection given to legislators (a member of a legislature (parliament/legislative assembly); lawmaker, representative) from immediate disqualification on conviction (sentence, judgement, verdict) for a criminal offence (crime, illegal/unlawful act, wrongdoing), the mandatory disclosure of the assets and criminal antecedents (roots, history, record, background) of candidates in their election affidavits (sworn statement, self-attestation, self-declaration) and expedited (accelerate, speed up, step up, quicken) trials (court case, lawsuit, inquiry, tribunal) for MPs and MLAs involved in criminal offences.

The Court’s reasoning is unexceptionable (acceptable, reasonable, satisfactory, fair, good enough). It found that the primary justification (reason, reasoning, cause, grounds, explanation, rationale) for the EBS — curbing (control, contain, restrict, limit) the use of ‘black money (The simplest definition of black money could possibly be money that is hidden from tax authorities. That is, black money can come from two broad categories: illegal activity and legal but unreported activity)’ for political or electoral funding by allowing donations through banking channels — failed the test of proportionality (the quality of being in relation to severity, quantity, degree, period of something; proportion, correlation), as it was not the least restrictive measure (action, act, step, move) to abridge (shorten, curtail, truncate, lessen/decrease) the voters’ right to know. It has made the logical connection between unidentified corporate donations and the likelihood of policy decisions being tailored (customize, adapt, adjust, modify, change) to suit the donors. The judgment is a natural follow-up to a principle it had laid down years ago that the voters’ freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a) will be incomplete without access to information on a candidate’s background (past, history, family circumstances, backdrop). The principle has now been extended to removing the veil (screen, shield, curtain, cover, layer) on corporate donors who may have been funding ruling parties in exchange for (in return for, in response to, in consideration of, against) favours. While the verdict may help ease (decrease, reduce, lessen, moderate, diminish) the hold (influence, control, dominance, leverage, clout, grip) that donors may have on governance through money power, a question that arises is whether the validity of the scheme could have been decided earlier or the issuance (an act of issuing/providing something) of bonds on a regular basis stayed (stop, delay, or prevent something temporarily (a judicial proceeding/trial through the order of a court)). How much of the thousands of crores of rupees given to parties under this scheme resulted in (cause, lead to, bring about, bring on, give rise to) policy measures favourable to the donors or helped fund the deployment (arrangement, organization, utilization, disposal, disposition, distribution) of additional campaign (canvassing, electioneering, an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) votes; an organized effort that seeks to influence the decision-making progress within a specific group) resources will never be known. This was a fit case for the grant of an interim (provisional, temporary, short-term, transitional) stay (it is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceeding through the court or legal authorities in India, in order to secure the rights of a citizen).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.freedom of expression (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता
English Meaning - the ability of an individual or group of individuals to express their beliefs, thoughts, ideas, and emotions about different issues free from government censorship, restraint, or legal penalty.

2.anonymous (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बेनाम, गुमनाम
English Meaning - nameless, incognito, unknown/unspecified.

3.undermine (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कमज़ोर कर देना
English Meaning - weaken, subvert, sabotage, damage.

4.electoral democracy (noun)

Hindi Meaning - चुनावी लोकतंत्र
English Meaning - it describes a democratic government based on a system that enables all citizens to select one candidate from a list of competitors for political office. The process is called an election. Each citizen becomes a voter who casts a secret ballot with their choices.

5.governance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शासन
English Meaning - the act of governing something; administration.

6.facilitate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - आसान कर देना
English Meaning - assist, help, aid, ease, make easy, make possible.

7.encashment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नकदीकरण
English Meaning - a process of exchanging (a cheque/bond) for money.

8.recognise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - पहचानना
English Meaning - acknowledge, accept, admit something (existence, validity, or legality).

9.malaise (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अस्वस्थता
English Meaning - trouble, disorder, disquiet, disease, depression, unhappiness, doldrums .

10.transparency (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पारदर्शिता
English Meaning - clarity, straightforwardness, openness, honesty, unambiguity.

11.violate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - उल्लंघन करना
English Meaning - contravene, offend, break, breach, encroach on, trespass on, infringe on, obtrude on.

12.The Constitution of India (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भारत का संविधान
English Meaning - India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949 and came into force on 26th January, 1950.

13.manifestly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - स्पष्टतः
English Meaning - clearly, obviously, apparently.

14.arbitrary (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मनमाना
English Meaning - capricious, personal (whim/choice), erratic/irregular.

15.disclose (verb)

Hindi Meaning - खुलासा करना, खोलना
English Meaning - reveal, make known, release, make public, publish, unveil.

16.unbounded (adjective)

English Meaning - unlimited, boundless, without limit, limitless, unrestrained, unrestricted, uncontrolled.

17.strike down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - abolish, annul, nullify (a law or regulation).

18.electoral bond (noun)

English Meaning - an electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India. it allows limitless, secret donations to political parties, including (and especially) by corporations.

19.blow (noun)

English Meaning - shock, surprise; setback/misfortune.

20.tend (verb)

English Meaning - be inclined, be disposed, be likely, have/show a tendency.

21.quid pro quo (phrase)

English Meaning - “something for something”; support in exchange for something.

22.strike a blow (phrase)

English Meaning - to act against something; to oppose/harm something; reject, resist, stand against.

23.constitution (noun)

English Meaning - body of law; system of rules; regulations, fundamental principles, charter.

24.Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 (noun)

English Meaning - An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

25.Companies Act, 2013 (noun)

English Meaning - An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to companies.

26.cap (noun)

English Meaning - limit upper limit.

27.mandate (verb)

English Meaning - make something mandatory; to officially require something.

28.disclosure (noun)

English Meaning - report, release, publishing, declaration, announcement.

29.hand down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - give, declare, announce (a verdict/judgement)

30.promote (verb)

English Meaning - support, endorse, recommend, foster, champion, advocate.

31.preserve (verb)

English Meaning - conserve, protect, save, safeguard, take care of.

32.purity (noun)

English Meaning - virtue, morality, ethicality, integrity, honesty.

33.intervention (noun)

English Meaning - the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference.

34.led to past participle of lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

35.the featuring (noun)

English Meaning - the displaying, showing, highlighting, presenting.

36.None of the Above (NOTA) (noun)

English Meaning - the option which enables the voter to officially register a vote of rejection for all candidates who are contesting. If a voter chooses to press NOTA it indicates that the voter has not chosen to vote for any of the party.

37.ballot (noun)

English Meaning - vote, poll.

38.legislator (noun)

English Meaning - a member of a legislature (parliament/legislative assembly); lawmaker, representative.

39.conviction (noun)

English Meaning - sentence, judgement, verdict.

40.offence (noun)

English Meaning - crime, illegal/unlawful act, wrongdoing.

41.mandatory (adjective)

English Meaning - compulsory, obligatory, necessary, binding, required (by law).

42.antecedent (noun)

English Meaning - roots, history, record, background.

43.affidavit (noun)

English Meaning - sworn statement, self-attestation, self-declaration.

44.expedite (verb)

English Meaning - accelerate, speed up, step up, quicken.

45.trial (adjective)

English Meaning - court case, lawsuit, inquiry, tribunal.

46.unexceptionable (adjective)

English Meaning - acceptable, reasonable, satisfactory, fair, good enough.

47.justification (noun)

English Meaning - reason, reasoning, cause, grounds, explanation, rationale.

48.curb (verb)

English Meaning - control, contain, restrict, limit.

49.black money (noun)

English Meaning - The simplest definition of black money could possibly be money that is hidden from tax authorities. That is, black money can come from two broad categories: illegal activity and legal but unreported activity.

50.channel (noun)

English Meaning - medium, vehicle, approach, instrument, mechanism, apparatus.

51.proportionality (noun)

English Meaning - the quality of being in relation to severity, quantity, degree, period of something; proportion, correlation.

52.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, act, step, move.

53.abridge (verb)

English Meaning - shorten, curtail, truncate, lessen/decrease.

54.likelihood (noun)

English Meaning - chance, possibility, prospect.

55.tailor (verb)

English Meaning - customize, adapt, adjust, modify, change.

56.lay down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - formulate, stipulate, prescribe, specify, order, announce, determine.

57.Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India (noun)

English Meaning - it says that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression.

58.background (noun)

English Meaning - past, history, family circumstances, backdrop.

59.veil (noun)

English Meaning - screen, shield, curtain, cover, layer.

60.in exchange for (phrase)

English Meaning - in return for, in response to, in consideration of, against.

61.favour (noun)

English Meaning - favouritism, unfair preference, partiality, prejudice, one-sidedness.

62.ease (verb)

English Meaning - decrease, reduce, lessen, moderate, diminish.

63.hold (noun)

English Meaning - influence, control, dominance, leverage, clout, grip.

64.issuance (noun)

English Meaning - an act of issuing/providing something.

65.stay (verb)

English Meaning - stop, delay, or prevent something temporarily (a judicial proceeding/trial through the order of a court).

66.result in (verb)

English Meaning - cause, lead to, bring about, bring on, give rise to.

67.deployment (noun)

English Meaning - arrangement, organization, utilization, disposal, disposition, distribution.

68.campaign (noun)

English Meaning - canvassing, electioneering, an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) votes; an organized effort that seeks to influence the decision-making progress within a specific group.

69.fit (adjective)

English Meaning - relevant, pertinent, appropriate, proper, suitable.

70.interim (adjective)

English Meaning - provisional, temporary, short-term, transitional.

71.stay (order) (noun)

English Meaning - it is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceeding through the court or legal authorities in India, in order to secure the rights of a citizen.