NEW DELHI, OCT 8 (AGENCIES): A group of 42 retired judges has written an open letter warning against attempts to undermine the Election Commission, saying such efforts could erode public faith and lead to unrest. “When the ballot loses meaning, the street gains it,” they said.
The letter comes amid Opposition protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and voter list revision. Thursday marked the third consecutive day of protests by top Opposition leaders in the national capital.
The retired judges expressed concern over what they called a campaign to undermine the Election Commission, judiciary and other constitutional institutions.
They questioned allegations of “vote theft” without supporting evidence and warned against repeatedly branding authorities as “thieves” and “compromised”. “We write because, in moments like these, silence is no longer a neutral choice. Our concern is serious. India’s constitutional bodies are under sustained attack,” the letter said. The signatories said the Election Commission stood at the centre of the assault, while the judiciary and statutory agencies had also not been spared.
They said the attacks were not reasoned criticism but appeared to be a “calculated campaign driven by vested political interests”, with serious consequences for democracy.
Defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the judges said it was a legally established exercise aimed at ensuring clean and accurate voter lists. “Trust is the currency of democracy,” they said, cautioning that attempts to delegitimise elections could fuel unrest and embolden anarchic elements. “Criticism of institutions is a democratic right. Denigration is not,” the letter said.
The letter criticised the allegations surrounding the electoral process without naming the Congress and another party at the forefront of the agitation. It said allegations of “vote theft” were made at press conferences rather than before courts and noted that when the Election Commission sought sworn declarations, none were filed.
It questioned criticism of Electronic Voting Machines after defeats, while victories using the same machines went unquestioned. The signatories said a party that had governed India for decades was now claiming that the system which elected it was rigged. They criticised activist organisations involved in litigation, alleging that they filed petitions without sufficient proof and used courtrooms as platforms, while criticising unfavourable judgments.
The letter warned that such claims were amplified to erode public confidence in the judiciary. It said unrest could begin with a narrative, followed by anarchic and fringe elements occupying the resulting vacuum, some homegrown and others taking cues from beyond India’s borders. The signatories included former Supreme Court judges, former chief justices of high courts and others. Former Supreme Court judges Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Pankaj Mittal were among those who signed.
Earlier this week, former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman expressed concern over the functioning of the Election Commission, saying the people’s right to vote was “at great peril” and that “very, very disturbing things are happening in our country today”.
Seeking Supreme Court intervention, Nariman said, “You cannot have an Election Commission which functions or malfunctions like this.” He referred to reports that 90 lakh voters were disenfranchised in West Bengal and questioned why the Supreme Court had not intervened. Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had also said that any process taking away the voting rights of a huge number of citizens was “a negation of the constitutional order”. “No authority can do it; no court can condone it,” he said.
