{"id":34284,"date":"2026-10-08T22:45:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=34284"},"modified":"2026-10-08T22:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T22:45:57","slug":"election-commission-group-of-42-ex-judges-defends-sir-slams-opposition-attack-on-election-commission-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=34284","title":{"rendered":"Election Commission: Group of 42 ex-judges defends SIR, slams opposition attack on Election Commission | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134802719,imgsize-363460,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg\" alt=\"Group of 42 ex-judges defends SIR, slams opposition attack on Election Commission\" title=\"File photo: Opposition's anti-SIR stir\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"File photo: Opposition's anti-SIR stir\">File photo: Opposition&#8217;s anti-SIR stir<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NEW DELHI: A group of 42 retired judges on Thursday slammed the opposition&#8217;s attack on <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/election-commission\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Election Commission<\/a>, claiming that it appeared to be a calculated campaign driven by &#8220;vested political interests&#8221; with little regard for the potentially devastating consequences of destabilising the world&#8217;s largest democracy.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>&#8220;India&#8217;s constitutional bodies are under sustained attack. EC stands at the centre of this assault. Even the higher judiciary, which we hold in high esteem, and statutory agencies have not been spared. These attacks are not reasoned critique,&#8221; they said in an open letter.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>Former Supreme Court judges Hemant Gupta and Pankaj Mittal and several former chief justices of high courts, besides retired judges of various HCs were signatories to the statement, which defended the EC&#8217;s Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, arguing that a clean roll protected every genuine vote.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>They said they held no brief for any political party but in moments like these, silence was no longer a neutral choice. Constitutional authorities were now branded &#8220;thieves&#8221;, &#8220;puppets&#8221; and &#8220;compromised&#8221; from public platforms, they said in a reference to EC&#8217;s sharp criticism by opposition functionaries and organisations like CJP.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>Targeting Congress, they said: &#8220;EVMs are blamed only after defeat. Victories won on the same machines go unquestioned. A party that governed this nation for over five decades now claims that the very system which elected it is rigged.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>They said activist outfits with a long record of selective litigation lent these claims a veneer of legality. &#8220;They file petitions one after the other. They seldom file proof. The courtroom becomes a stage, and when the judgement is delivered, it is criticised whenever it does not serve their interests.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-type=\"in_view\" class=\"  \">\n<div class=\"LEzX4\">\n<div class=\"PmOGb\">\n<p class=\"PSf84\">Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Insightful<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Agree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Disagree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Skeptical<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Concerning<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Promising<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Worth Reading<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Big Development<\/button><\/p>\n<p><textarea class=\"T9MbS\" rows=\"1\" placeholder=\"Add your Thoughts...\"\/><button type=\"button\" class=\"ZW6JD \" disabled=\"\">Post Comment<\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"swnca\">Be respectful \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatimes.com\/termsandcondition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"gkv0P\">TOI community guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>The uproar over SIR appeared both sudden and remarkably convenient, the judges said. &#8220;Tell citizens often enough that their vote does not count, and they stop believing in the ballot. When the ballot loses meaning, the street gains it. Unrest begins with a narrative. Anarchic and fringe elements then occupy the vacuum,&#8221; the group said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>While some of these groups were homegrown, some took their cues from beyond borders, they alleged. They appealed to political parties to not delegitimise elections and take their grievances to EC and the courts with evidence.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/group-of-42-ex-judges-defends-sir-slams-opposition-attack-on-election-commission\/articleshow\/134802711.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>File photo: Opposition&#8217;s anti-SIR stir NEW DELHI: A group of 42 retired judges on Thursday slammed the opposition&#8217;s attack on Election Commission, claiming that it appeared to be a calculated campaign driven by &#8220;vested political interests&#8221; with little regard for the potentially devastating consequences of destabilising the world&#8217;s largest democracy.&#8220;India&#8217;s constitutional bodies are under sustained [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"File photo: Opposition&#8217;s anti-SIR stir NEW DELHI: A group of 42 retired judges on Thursday slammed the opposition&#8217;s attack on Election Commission, claiming that it appeared to be a calculated campaign driven by &#8220;vested political interests&#8221; with little regard for the potentially devastating consequences of destabilising the world&#8217;s largest democracy.&#8220;India&#8217;s constitutional bodies are under sustained [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/oppn-attack-on-ec-campaign-without-evidence-ex-judges.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}