New Delhi: With opposition parties intensifying protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, a group of 42 retired judges has issued an open letter alleging a broader attempt to destabilise India’s constitutional institutions.
The judges claimed that certain domestic groups, allegedly working in tandem with foreign organisations, are behind a campaign aimed at weakening bodies such as the Election Commission and the judiciary. They cautioned that such efforts could pose a risk to the Constitution.
The political flashpoint follows recent reports in an English daily alleging that the CEC acted unilaterally on multiple issues, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and that fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on several occasions. The Election Commission has denied these claims.
Opposition parties under the INDIA alliance have been protesting for the past three days, also alleging that 13 crore voters were removed from the rolls. The Election Commission responded with data, stating that during the three-phase SIR exercise, the identities of 95.40 crore voters were verified and 13.39 crore names were deleted due to reasons such as death and migration.
In their letter, the retired judges condemned what they described as a deliberate smear campaign, including repeated public allegations of “vote theft” without firm evidence. They argued that while criticism is legitimate in a democracy, it should not descend into vilification of constitutional institutions, warning that sustained distrust in the electoral process could harm public order and create openings for disruptive forces.
