In New Delhi on Wednesday, the Supreme Court instructed both the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Kerala State Election Commission (SEC) to submit their replies by December 1. The court was hearing applications that ask for a delay in Kerala’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter rolls, citing the upcoming local body elections.
Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard petitions from the state government and several parties—CPI‑M, CPI, and the Indian Union Muslim League—challenging the ECI’s order to carry out the intensive revision. Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, countered that the parties were “creating a scare” around the process.
Dwivedi told the bench that the SIR was moving along smoothly and was close to finishing. He noted that “ninety‑nine per cent of voters have been supplied enumeration forms, and more than fifty per cent of these have already been digitised.” He added that the SIR was being run in close coordination with the SEC, with district‑level meetings already held. “The State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India are collaborating. 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,” he said.
The court remarked, “It is a matter of a few days only.” Initially the hearing was slated for December 9, but the petitioners—arguing that local body polls begin on December 9—asked for an earlier session, so the court rescheduled for December 2.
In its submission, the Kerala government argued that running the SIR at the same time as the local elections, slated for December 9 and 11, would strain administrative resources. “There is a constitutional mandate to complete LSGI elections before December 21. Simultaneously undertaking the SIR will severely strain resources,” the state said, citing the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Kerala Municipality Act. The petition estimated that more than 176,000 government and quasi‑government workers, plus 68,000 security staff, are needed for the local polls, while the SIR would require an extra 25,668 officials—most drawn from the same limited pool.
The state government contended that rushing the verification process during a constitutional election cycle “goes counter to the democratic right of franchise,” especially with Assembly elections slated for May 2026. The Kerala High Court had previously stayed on the matter, noting that similar challenges in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal were also pending before the Supreme Court.
The court will now hear the petitions on December 2 after the ECI and SEC submit their affidavits.
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