CHENNAI: Former judges of the Madras High Court wrote to the President of India Draupadi Murmu to protect the electoral democracy of the country for the well-being of the people of India.

The letter signed by the former judges GM Akbar Ali, Aruna Jagadeesan, D Hariparanthaman, Anjana Prakash, and PR Shivakumar stated that "It pains us to say that no election commission of India (ECI) in the past has been as reluctant as the present one to discharge its duties, despite violations being repeatedly brought to its attention", read the letter.

The inexplicable refusal of the ECI to disclose the exact numbers of votes cast in each booth of each constituency and the very little visible action against hate speech targeting both minorities and the opposition parties by senior leaders of the ruling party are huge points of worry, said the letter.

The former judges expressed their hope that the President would follow the established democratic precedent of first inviting the pre-poll alliance that garnered the largest number of seats, in the event of a hung parliament. They also urged the President's endeavor to preempt the possibilities of horse-trading.