I'd think that's primarily a personal opinion of those set of judges. That said, try it without crystal malts and see if you like it. I find they tend to get in the way of hops. But it depends on your taste preference. Not every IIPA has to taste like Pliny (although most would probably be better if they did).
I think the boil time argument is mostly BS, though. You'd have to boil it very hard to get a flavor difference unless you hit the first runnings hard like with a Scotch ale.
It doesn't matter where you get the flavors. It matters whether you want the flavors there or not. You can get flavors from process, ingredients, or both. I think caramel flavors from process would be just as distracting as caramel flavors from malt. And I doubt judges could really tell the source given the final product.