New Delhi, Nov. 25 -- The Supreme Court on Monday sought the responses of the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea to bring transparency in political party funding and to quash the provision in the Income Tax Act that permits them to collect "anonymous" cash donations up to a specified amount.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed notices to be issued on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Delhi-based lawyer Khem Singh Bhati, who challenged the constitutional validity of section 13A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This provision, which relates to exemption on income for political parties, specifically states in 13A(d) that "no donation exceeding Rs.2,000 is received by a political par...