New Delhi: Seven former judges of the country on Monday wrote an open letter to President Draupadi Murmu. The former judges appealed to her to follow the established democratic tradition. They also urged to invite the largest pre-poll alliance to form the government to prevent horse-trading in the event of a fractured mandate in the 2024 general elections. The retired judges also urged Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and the Chief Election Commissioner to uphold the Constitution by ensuring a smooth transfer of power if the current ruling government loses the mandate.
The open letter has been signed by six former judges of Madras High Court namely GM Akbar Ali, Aruna Jagadeesan, D. Hariparanthaman, PR Sivakumar, CT Selvam, S. Vimala and former judge of Patna High Court Anjana Prakash. In the letter, the honourable judges have requested to convene five most respected judges of the Supreme Court of India to deal with any constitutional issue arising in the country due to the current situation. They said that there is a genuine concern that if the current ruling government loses the mandate, the transfer of power will not be smooth and a constitutional crisis may arise.
Agreeing with a May 25 open letter by the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) of former public servants, the former judges said, “We are bound to agree with the above statement. In the event of a fractured mandate, the President of India will have enormous responsibilities on her shoulders.” It added, “We trust that she will follow the established democratic tradition and invite the pre-poll alliance that wins the maximum number of seats. At the same time, she will also try to prevent the possibility of horse-trading…”
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