HARISH SALVE DEFENDS ELECTION COMMISSION, URGES POLITICAL LEADERS TO END DISSENT CONTROVERSY
October 8, 2026
Former Solicitor General Harish Salve has defended the Election Commission amid the Opposition’s continuing protests, arguing that the controversy over alleged differences within the three-member poll panel should end after the commission clarified that its decisions were unanimous.
Salve said that if members of a three-member panel disagreed, a decision could not properly be described as unanimous. However, he questioned reports suggesting that differences had existed within the Election Commission and said the subsequent clarification by the poll panel should have settled the matter.
He pointed out that the Election Commission had held a meeting, issued a press note and later reissued it to clarify that the decisions in question were unanimous. According to Salve, that should have brought the controversy to an end rather than becoming the basis for further political confrontation.
His comments came as INDIA bloc parties continued their campaign against the Election Commission, including a demonstration in Delhi. Salve said political parties were free to criticise their opponents but argued that constitutional institutions should not become targets of political attacks.
Describing the Election Commission as a co-equal constitutional institution, Salve said its authority was supreme within the sphere assigned to it by the Constitution and law, while the Supreme Court retained the power to intervene if a constitutional institution exceeded its boundaries.
Salve also warned Opposition leaders against damaging institutions they might themselves have to govern in the future. He argued that political leaders should consider the long-term consequences of weakening constitutional institutions for short-term political gains.
He separately defended the judiciary, maintaining that sitting Supreme Court judges should speak through their judgments, particularly on politically sensitive questions. Referring to public comments by judges, he warned that open criticism of judgments by members of the judiciary could undermine public confidence in the institution.
Salve urged political actors not to allow political frustration or the pursuit of immediate advantage to erode constitutional institutions, calling for restraint amid the escalating dispute surrounding the Election Commission.
