Stating that the Election Commission was ``stretched to the extreme,'' Gill said that ``in this election, the commission, with its limited resources, had to deal with numerous challenges in different high courts. At one stage, we had to rush to the Supreme Court for relief, which we obtained.''

In a wide-ranging interview, the CEC also touched upon various subjects including the implementation of the model code of conduct, the summary revision of electoral rolls, electoral reforms, upcoming Assembly elections in three states and the violence by ultra-left groups during the polls.

Commenting on the summoning of EC officials by various high courts during the recent elections, Gill said that it was in contravention of article 329-b of the constitution, which barsinterference by courts in electoral matters.

Quoting noted jurist V R Krishna Iyer, Gill said article 329-b had put up a ``barrier equal to the Great Wall of China to ensure that at election time this high constitutional authority (the EC) is allowed to complete the job.'' ``If allowed, intervention and stay orders could have finished our democracy in the 1950s itself,'' Gill added.

This trend of courts hearing poll-related matters during the election process should worry the other wings of the constitutional structure also, he said. Otherwise, Gill expressed satisfaction at the conduct of the recent elections.