NEW DELHI: Thirty-six former judges, including former Supreme Court and High Court Chief Justices, denounced the Opposition leaders' bid to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, stating such an attempt, if allowed to proceed, would cut at the very roots of democracy and independence of the judiciary.

"This is a brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society. Even if the reasons mentioned by the signatory Member(s) of Parliament are taken at face value, they are wholly inadequate to justify resorting to such a rare, exceptional and serious constitutional measure such as impeachment," the former judges in a letter said.

It further added that even during the dark period of the Emergency, the then Government adopted various mechanisms, including supersessions to penalise judges who refused to "toe the line".

"The supersession of three seniormost judges of the Supreme Court after the decision in Kesavananda Bharati, the sidelining of Justice H.R. Khanna after his famous dissent in ADM Jabalpur, are sobering reminders of how political overreach can damage judicial independence. Despite these onslaughts, our Judiciary has stood the test of time and withstood all external pressures," the former judges said while condemning the move to try to impeach Justice Swaminathan.

"The present move (to try to impeach Justice Swaminathan) is not an isolated aberration. It fits into a clear and deeply troubling pattern in our recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests," said the 36 former judges in their signatories letter.