42 former judges, including former Supreme Court and High Court judges, issued a strongly worded open letter on Thursday, warning that a sustained campaign to undermine the Election Commission of India (ECI), the judiciary and other constitutional institutions could erode public trust in democracy. The signatories, which include former Supreme Court judges Hemant Gupta and Pankaj Mittal, criticised allegations of “vote theft” that they say lack supporting evidence and warned that repeatedly branding constitutional authorities as “thieves” and “compromised” risks delegitimising elections and fueling unrest.
In the letter, the judges defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, describing it as a legally established exercise designed to keep voter lists clean and accurate. They stressed that criticism of institutions is a democratic right, but denigration is not, and urged the public to preserve trust as the currency of democracy.
The letter was released on the same day that BJP national president Nitin Nabin criticised Rahul Gandhi for protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Nabin called the opposition “anarchists” and urged them to resign from seats won through elections conducted by the ECI, citing the commission’s role in Kerala and Tamil Nadu elections.
Rahul Gandhi, along with Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other opposition MPs, was detained by Delhi Police after a bus carrying them was stopped near Janpath during a protest at Jantar Mantar. The incident followed Gandhi’s earlier protest against the CEC.
The open letter and the political exchanges highlight growing tensions over the integrity of India’s electoral process and the role of constitutional bodies in safeguarding it.
