SIR Row: 42 Former Judges Warn Against Attempts to Undermine Election Commission

In an open letter issued on Thursday, the former judges questioned allegations of “vote theft” made without what they described as supporting evidence. They warned that repeatedly portraying constitutional authorities as “thieves” or “compromised” could weaken public confidence in democratic institutions.

“Criticism of institutions is a democratic right. Denigration is not,” the letter said. It was signed by former Supreme Court judges Hemant Gupta and Pankaj Mittal, among others.

The signatories also defended the SIR exercise, describing it as a legally established process intended to ensure that electoral rolls remain accurate and free of irregularities.

The former judges cautioned that public trust is essential to the functioning of a democracy and said attempts to delegitimise elections could contribute to unrest and encourage forces seeking to undermine constitutional processes.

Among the 42 signatories are three former Chief Justices of High Courts. They include former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi High Courts B.C. Patel, former Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and former Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court Permod Kohli.

The other signatories include retired judges from various High Courts as well as former members of statutory bodies and regulatory institutions.

The open letter came amid an intensifying political confrontation between the ruling BJP and Opposition parties over the Election Commission, the SIR exercise and electoral rolls.

On the same day, BJP national president Nitin Nabin criticised Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over the Opposition's protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Nabin argued that if the Opposition questioned the credibility of the Election Commission, its leaders should resign from positions they won in elections conducted under the poll panel.

His remarks followed another Opposition protest in Delhi on Wednesday. Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition MPs were detained by Delhi Police after a bus carrying them was stopped near Janpath while INDIA bloc leaders were attempting to march against Gyanesh Kumar.

Speaking to reporters, Nabin accused the protesters of having what he described as an “anarchist mindset” and alleged that they were attempting to create distrust in society.

He pointed to elections conducted by the Election Commission in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where the Congress has secured electoral victories, and questioned the basis for the Opposition's criticism of the poll panel.

Nabin also alleged that Rahul Gandhi was seeking to protect “infiltrators” and claimed that the Opposition was attempting to deprive citizens of their rights.

The Opposition has maintained that the SIR process has resulted in genuine voters being excluded from electoral rolls and has demanded accountability from the Election Commission, including the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The dispute has led to protests in several parts of the country, with the Opposition continuing to raise questions over the electoral-roll revision while the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected the allegations.