India, Oct. 11 -- They argue that electoral malpractice allegations must be backed by credible evidence, contrasting the present system with the bygone era of booth capturing.

A group of 124 former civil servants from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and allied services came together to issue an open letter to the citizens of India, defending the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, questioning allegations of vote rigging that they said were being made without credible evidence.

In the letter dated October 10, the signatories said repeated use of the word "rigged" to describe elections without evidence risked undermining public confidence in ...