India's Supreme Court on Thursday scrapped a seven year-old election funding system that allows individuals and companies to donate money to political parties anonymously and without any limits.
The decision is seen as a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been the largest beneficiary of the system it introduced in 2017.
The system, called 'Electoral Bonds', was challenged by opposition members and a civil society group on grounds that it hindered the public's right to know who had given money to political parties.
Under the system, a person or company can buy these bonds from the state-run State Bank of India and donate them to a political party of their choice.
A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that the system is "unconstitutional".
The court directed SBI to not issue any more of these bonds.
Lebanese return home as ceasefire with Israel mostly holds
Myanmar cuts ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence, frees former president
US military: ready to strike Iran's power plants, energy industry if ordered
GCC parliamentary speakers stress unified stance against Iranian attacks
Countries to discuss Hormuz mission for when conflict ends
