India, Oct. 9 -- A group of 42 retired judges have defended the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the Opposition onslaught and backed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, describing it as a lawful exercise.

In an open letter to the "people of India", the former judges of the Supreme Court and former chief justices and judges of various high courts said they hold no brief for any political party but felt compelled to speak as "silence is no longer a neutral choice".

The signatories include Former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi High Court BC Patel, Former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, former Supreme Court judges Hemant Gupta and Pankaj Mittal. The Opposition INDIA ...