SC asks ECI, Kerala SEC to respond to pleas seeking postponement of SIR in state

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Kerala State Election Commission (SEC) to file their responses by December 1 on pleas seeking deferment of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala in view of the upcoming elections to the Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGIs).

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the direction while hearing petitions filed by the Kerala government seeking postponement of the SIR exercise, along with petitions from other political parties, including the CPI-M, the CPI, and the Indian Union Muslim League, challenging the validity of the ECI’s order directing intensive revision of the voters’ list in the state.

Opposing the pleas, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, said political parties were “creating a scare” over the SIR process.

Dwivedi informed the CJI-led Bench that the SIR was proceeding smoothly and was nearing completion.

“Ninety-nine per cent of voters have been supplied enumeration forms, and more than 50 per cent of these have already been digitised,” he submitted.

The senior counsel further said the SIR was being conducted in coordination with the State Election Commission.

“The State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India are collaborating. District-level meetings have been held. There’s no problem; we need only a small section of BLOs. If the SEC needs to use some of the officials allocated to us, they are free to do so,” Dwivedi told the apex court.

At this, the bench said: “It is a matter of a few days only.”

Initially, it considered listing the matter on December 9, but scheduled the hearing on December 2 after the petitioner’s side pointed out that local body polling in Kerala begins on December 9 and requested an urgent hearing.

In its plea, the Kerala government said that conducting the SIR alongside the local body elections, scheduled for December 9 and 11, would “cripple” administrative manpower.

“There is a constitutional mandate to complete LSGI elections before December 21. Simultaneously undertaking the SIR will severely strain resources,” the state government said, referring to statutory obligations under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.

According to the petition, over 1.76 lakh government and quasi-government personnel, along with 68,000 security staff, are required for the local body polls, while the SIR demands an additional 25,668 officials — most drawn from the same limited pool.

The state government argued that rushing the verification process “when constitutional elections are underway goes counter to the democratic right of franchise”, especially when Assembly elections are due only in May 2026.

The Kerala High Court had earlier refrained from adjudicating the matter, noting that similar challenges to SIR processes in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal were already pending before the Supreme Court.

The petitions will now be heard on December 2, after the ECI and SEC file their affidavits.

–IANS

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