Former judges wrote a letter to Draupadi Murmu
NEW DELHI: Seven former high court judges on Monday wrote an open letter to President Draupadi Murmu urging her to follow “established democratic precedent” and invite the single largest coalition to form government in the 2024 general elections to prevent horse-trading and lead to a hung Parliament.The retired judges also urged Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and the Chief Election Commissioner to uphold the Constitution by ensuring a smooth transition of power if the current ruling government loses the mandate of the people.
The open letter is signed by six former judges of the Madras High Court – G M Akbar Ali, Aruna Jagadeesan, D Hariparanthaman, P R Sivakumar, C T Selvam, S Vimala and former judge of Patna High Court – Anjana Prakash. The former judges said there is a “genuine concern” that if the current ruling government loses the mandate of the people, the transition of power may not be smooth and a constitutional crisis may arise.
Agreeing with the May 25 open statement of the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) of former civil servants, the former judges said, “We have been watching this happen and are constrained to write in our letter: ‘In the event of a hung Parliament, difficult responsibilities will be placed on the shoulders of the President of India. We are sure that she will follow the established democratic precedent of inviting the first pre-poll coalition that secures the highest number of seats. At the same time, she will try to prevent the possibility of horse-trading….’”
The former judges also urged the CJI and CEC to uphold the Constitution in such a situation and ensure a smooth transition of power and said “We, former High Court Judges, with no affiliation to any political party but firmly committed to the ideals enshrined in the Constitution and the values of electoral democracy, are writing this open letter with deep anguish at the recent and current events leading up to the 2024 Parliamentary elections.”
“Many incidents over the past week tell a very grim story; one that could potentially end in a violent conclusion. These are real fears in the minds of many of our people. Prominent civil and human rights organizations and activists have also expressed these fears.”
It said the Election Commission’s refusal to disclose the exact number of votes polled at each booth in each constituency and make available to the public the Form 17(c) of the Conduct of Election Rules, as well as taking minimal action against hate speech targeting minorities, is a matter of major concern as is the intimidation of Opposition parties by senior leaders of the ruling party.
The letter said that the Supreme Court, being the final authority to protect and preserve the Constitution and democracy, must be prepared to take “proactive action to prevent any potential catastrophe or to deal with any catastrophic situation that may arise during the counting of votes and declaration of results”.
“We, the people of India, as citizens of a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, call upon the Supreme Court to ensure the presence of the top five esteemed Judges of the Supreme Court even during the current summer vacation period and to keep them available to respond to any constitutional crisis that may arise in the present situation.”
It said the former judges hoped their apprehensions were misplaced and the elections would end smoothly but believed that prevention is better than cure, adding, “We, therefore, humbly wish to remind every authority and institution responsible for the integrity of the process of the formation of democratic government of their paramount duty to abide by and uphold the Constitution.”
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