Former High Court judges write to President Murmu, expressing concern over the Lok Sabha election
“There was genuine concern about the way the General Election - 2024 is being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and that if the present ruling dispensation loses people’s mandate the transition of power may not be smooth and there could be a constitutional crisis,”
Seven former High Court judges wrote an open letter to President Draupadi Murmu, CJI DY Chandrachud and Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday. The letter expressed their concern on how the Lok Sabha Elections were conducted. The letter urged the President to follow the “established democratic precedent.”
The letter is signed by former Madras High Court judges GM Akbar Ali, Aruna Jagadeesan, D Hariparanthanam, PR Shivakumar, CT Selvam, S Vimla and former Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash, who cleared that they do not have affiliation to any political party.
The retired judges claimed that the majority of people have “genuine apprehensions” in their minds, echoing civil and human rights organizations and activists.
“There was genuine concern about the way the General Election – 2024 is being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and that if the present ruling dispensation loses people’s mandate the transition of power may not be smooth and there could be a constitutional crisis,” the letter stated.
The judges also quoted a statement by the Constitutional Conduct Group of former civil servants expressing ‘concerns’ over the fairness of the elections.
“It pains us to say that no Election Commission in the past has been as reluctant as the present one to discharge its duties, despite violations being repeatedly brought to its attention by responsible organisations and respected members of society,” the civil servants claimed last week.
Mentioning a recent controversy involving the Election Commission about the number of votes cast in each polling booth, the ex-judges targeted minimal action taken against hate speech against minorities and opposition parties by leaders of the ruling party.
“In the event of a hung parliament, onerous responsibilities will be placed upon the shoulders of the President of India. We are sure that she will follow the established democratic precedent of first inviting the pre-poll alliance that garnered the largest number of seats. Also, that she would endeavour to preempt the possibilities of horse-trading,” the former judges wrote in the letter.
The retired judges urged the top court to “defend and protect the Constitution and democracy, should be ready to take proactive action to prevent any potential catastrophe or to address any monstrous situations that may arise during counting and declaration of results of candidates who have contested in Lok Sabha 2024 elections, requiring immediate intervention.”
The ex-judges concluded the letter hoping their apprehensions were wrong. They wrote, “We hope that our apprehensions are wrong and the elections would end smoothly with counting of votes and declaration of results done in a fair and honest manner and formation of parliament as well as transition of power taking place as per the mandate of the people without a hiccup.”
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