42 ex-judges defend ECI, criticize ‘calculated campaign’ driven by ‘vested political interests’
The former judges also defended the Election Commission of India’s role in revising electoral rolls, saying the exercise was aimed at promoting accurate electoral rolls and free and fair elections. Image is for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: The Hindu
More than 40 former Supreme Court and Supreme Court judges expressed concern over “a calculated campaign driven by political vested interests, with little regard for the potentially devastating consequences of destabilizing the world’s largest democracy”.
“The party that has ruled this nation for more than five decades is now claiming that the very system that elected it is rigged. It is not acting alone. Activist organizations with a long history of selective litigation lend the veneer of legitimacy to these claims,” the 42 former judges said in an open letter, without naming the party.
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Among the signatories are former Supreme Court judges Hemant Gupta and Pankaj Mithal; former Chief Justice BC Patel, Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Permod Kohli.
“They file one petition after another. They rarely give evidence. The courtroom becomes a stage, and when a verdict is handed down, it is criticized whenever it does not serve their interests. The vitriol is then disseminated and disseminated on an industrial scale with the deliberate aim of undermining public confidence in a well-established and widely trusted judicial system,” the paper said.
The judges said allegations of “vote-stealing” had been made at press conferences, not before the courts, saying: “When the Commission calls for an affidavit, none is filed. Electronic voting machines are blamed only after defeat. Victories won on the same machines remain unchallenged.”
They said attacks on constitutional institutions have gone beyond legitimate criticism, with election officials facing public accusations and threats. They said that no court has proved the allegations leveled against such authorities.
Former judges have expressed concern over criticism of the Election Commission of India, the judiciary and statutory bodies, arguing that such actions could undermine public confidence in the institutions. The former judges also defended the Commission’s role in revising electoral rolls, saying the exercise was aimed at promoting accurate electoral rolls and free and fair elections.
They urged political parties to file complaints through the Commission and the courts, while asking the media to verify claims before reporting them. The judges also urged citizens to carefully assess the information and called on protesters to exercise their rights peacefully.
Published – 8 Oct 2026 16:25 IST