BREAKING| Apex Court Asks ECI To Consider Kerala Govt. Proposal For Extension Of Last Date Of Submission Of SIR Forms Sympathetically
Previously, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Election Commission in the plea filed by State of Kerala to defer SIR of electoral rolls till the completion of local body elections.
The Supreme Court, today, permitted the State of Kerala to submit a proposal to the Election Commission of India ('ECI') for extension of the last date of submission of the SIR enumeration form and asked ECI to consider it sympathetically.
The Supreme Court had previously issued notice to the Election Commission of India in the petition filed by the Government of Kerala seeking to postpone the Special Intensive Revision (‘SIR’) of the electoral rolls in Kerala until the elections of the local body are completed.
The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered, “During the course of hearing, we are informed that the elections of the local bodies will be over by the 13th or so after once the counting is complete. Shri Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission of India submitted that for the smooth conducting of the election of local bodies the state has allocated 25,468 staff for SIR and 1,76,000 to the State Election Commission. That exercise will be over by Dec 11.
It is submitted that more than 98 percent of forms are distributed and more than 88 per cent are digitised. SEC says all staff deployed by us are exempt from SIR duty.
Ld Senior Counsels representing petitioners submit that some of the political workers and local residents are occupied in the ongoing local elections...We therefore, permit the state of Kerala to submit the proposal for extension of the last date of the enumeration form to the Election Commission of India...Let ECI consider it sympathetically and make a decision by day after tomorrow."
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh appeared on behalf of the ECI and submitted that 88% of digitisation of the forms is completed as of yesterday, and a reply has been filed.
CJI remarked, "You may continue with the process going on, but don't ask the state govt employees...we are trying to solve a problem and hopefully we will be able to resolve."
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi for ECI submits that a complete allocation of seperate staff in done for the state elections
CJI said, "1 Lakh staff is allocated, we will tell you to complete your election with that staff...Is there any exercise undertaken by you on whether more staff is required?"
Counsel for the State of Kerala submitted, "The problem is it is done simultaneously."
CJI remarked, "The government machinery, the constitutional machinery doesn't have problems, only some political parties have problems."
The State had first moved the Kerala High Court seeking a deferment of the SIR process until the completion of the local body elections, but the High Court declined to intervene and indicated that the State may instead approach the Supreme Court, which is already seized of SIR-related cases.
The general elections to the Local Self Government Institutions in Kerala are scheduled to be conducted in two phases on 9 and 11 December 2025, with the counting of votes to take place on 13 December 2025.
The Supreme Court had agreed to hear all the pleas challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct a pan-India Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Supreme Court had also previously sought separate responses of the Election Commission (EC) on pleas filed by DMK, CPI(M), West Bengal Congress and Trinamool Congress leaders challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, respectively. The Court had asked the Madras and Calcutta high courts to keep in abeyance any proceedings on petitions challenging the SIR exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Cause Title: P.K. Kunhalikutty v. Election Commission Of India And Anr. [W.P.(C) No. 1133/2025]