Not just the EC: Is resentment against the Supreme Court also growing?

Healthy democracies depend on independent institutions that function autonomously and dispense justice without fear or favour. However, in India, a growing number of activists, emerging student leaders, and politicians have accused the judiciary of failing to uphold this independence, alleging that it has acted in ways that favour the BJP in key political cases.

As the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protests widened and intensified, its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, criticised the Supreme Court while speaking at the Mumbai Press Club.

“Which Supreme Court? The same one which didn't allow lakhs of people to vote in West Bengal elections, and which said that if you can't vote now, what's the big deal, you can vote next time? The Supreme Court is equally guilty in this,” Dipke said.

Neha Bora, a popular activist who has consistently participated in the ongoing street protests, has also reportedly alleged that the Supreme Court has been infested with RSS goons.

The latest expression of disillusionment has come from senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who said he had lost faith in the Supreme Court and was tired of repeatedly approaching it for the protection of citizens' rights.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, following the police crackdown on protesters in Delhi a day earlier and amid demonstrations against the Chief Election Commissioner and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, Sibal expressed his frustration with the institution.

“I am tired of keeping on going to the Supreme Court. I am speaking for myself. I don't think there is any use of going there. I don't have much hope in the Supreme Court of India,” he said.

These expressions of anger point to a possible widening of the opposition's confrontation with India's institutions that they think show a nexus with the ruling BJP. While the Election Commission has been at the centre of allegations of electoral manipulation, accompanied by protests and unceasing demands for accountability, the Supreme Court is increasingly becoming a target of criticism among sections of the protest movement. The question, however, is whether the anger directed at the Election Commission is also spilling over into a broader loss of faith in the country's constitutional institutions.

The Nepal parallel

The developments also invite comparisons with Nepal, where mounting public anger against the political establishment culminated in a youth-led uprising in 2025. The protests reflected a deeper frustration with the existing political order, corruption, and the failure of institutions to respond to public grievances.

In Nepal, this anger eventually contributed to an upsurge in a youth movement that successfully replaced the existing order and ousted the established leadership. The experience demonstrates how anger and resentment can escalate when young people believe that the institutions meant to hold those in power accountable are failing them, and more importantly when they spill onto the streets.

India's political circumstances are different, however, and the criticism directed at the Supreme Court seems, according to analysts, at a nascent stage. Yet, as protests over electoral processes intensify, the growing willingness of activists, political figures, and even senior legal voices to publicly question the judiciary raises a significant question: is the resentment against the Election Commission developing into a wider challenge to the credibility of India's constitutional institutions?