42 सेवानिवृत्त न्यायाधीशों ने इलेक्शन कमीशन का समर्थन किया, SIR को वैध घोषित किया

India42 retired judges back EC, call SIR lawful amid opposition protests

In an open letter, the former judges said they did not represent any political party but felt compelled to speak out as “silence is no longer a neutral choice”.

A group of 42 retired judges on Thursday defended the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the Opposition's criticism and backed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a lawful exercise.

In an open letter to the "people of India", the former Supreme Court judges and former chief justices and judges of various high courts said they had no brief for any political party but felt compelled to speak as "silence is no longer a neutral choice".

The signatories include former Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi High Court Chief Justice B C Patel, former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and former Supreme Court judges Hemant Gupta and Pankaj Mittal.

The intervention comes amid a sustained campaign by INDIA bloc leaders against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR exercise. The Opposition has accused the poll panel of manipulating electoral rolls to benefit the BJP and demanded Kumar's resignation. The BJP and the ECI have rejected the allegations.

The former judges said constitutional institutions were facing a "sustained attack", with the ECI at the centre of the campaign. They said the higher judiciary and statutory agencies had also come under attack.

According to the letter, the criticism had gone beyond democratic scrutiny and appeared to be a "calculated campaign" driven by political interests, with potentially damaging consequences for India's democratic institutions.

"Criticism of institutions is a democratic right. Denigration is not," they said, objecting to constitutional authorities being publicly labelled "thieves", "puppets" and "compromised".

On SIR, the former judges said electoral law empowered the ECI to revise electoral rolls and noted that such exercises had been conducted repeatedly since the first general elections. They said the last nationwide exercise was carried out about two decades ago.

The judges also questioned allegations of "vote theft", saying such claims were made at press conferences rather than before courts, and alleged that proof was rarely produced when sought through legal proceedings.

They further criticised what they described as attempts to undermine the judiciary and electoral institutions through repeated litigation and public campaigns.

The letter comes as Opposition leaders continue their protests against the ECI and SIR in Delhi. INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament on Tuesday, followed by Rahul Gandhi's eight-hour sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan. On Wednesday, Gandhi and other Opposition leaders protested at Jantar Mantar before being detained.

Thursday marked the third consecutive day of protests by top Opposition leaders in the national capital.

(With inputs from PTI)

The New Indian Express

www.newindianexpress.com

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