Kerala moves Supreme Court to defer SIR till after local body elections; questions urgency

The Kerala government has approached the Supreme Court seeking the deferment of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the State..The Kerala government has sought to postpone the SIR exercise at least till after the upcoming local body elections. The State says the SIR, particularly in the manner in which it is being undertaken, is not suited to the present election schedule in Kerala, given the upcoming Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGI) polls in December. The Kerala government adds that while it may challenge the SIR separately, the current plea is limited to postponing the exercise. .The petition highlights that Kerala has 1,200 local bodies with 23,612 wards. The last elections were held in December 2020.The State had cited Articles 243 E and 243U of the Constitution of India and the relevant provisions of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and the Kerala Municipality Act to underline that the entire local body election process has to be completed before December 21, 2025.The plea also notes that the Kerala State Election Commission has fixed December 9 and December 11, 2025, as the dates on which polling will take place, with the vote count scheduled to begin on December 13. The entire election process is expected to conclude by December 18.These local body elections require 1.76 lakh personnel from the government and quasi-governmental services, apart from 68,000 police and other security personnel. The SIR would require additional personnel of about 25,668."This puts a severe strain on the State administration bringing routine administrative work to a standstill," the plea says. The State goes on to argue that the same trained staff cannot be deployed for both exercises and warns of an administrative impasse if the SIR is permitted to continue alongside the local body elections. .The petition further points out that the deadline for enumeration for the SIR was set at December 4, that the details are expected to be submitted by December 9, with February 7, 2026, being the date set for the publication of the final revised electoral rolls. The Kerala government has argued that these timelines directly clash with the local body election schedule."Even after enumeration, the important consequential components of the SIR clashes with the conduct of elections to LSGIs and declaration of the results which require exclusive services of a large number of civil and security personnel. Undermining the quality of verification by needlessly rushing it through when the constitutional requirement of elections to LSGIs is being undertaken goes counter to the protection of the basic democratic right of exercise of franchise by the electors, which is the very basis of our democracy," the plea said. Kerala goes on to argue that there is no urgency to complete SIR now and that the ECI has also not made out any special reasons for carrying out a special revision in the State.It notes that Lok Sabha elections have already been held in 2024, that the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly began its sessions on May 24, 2021, and the next Assembly elections need only be completed before May 24, 2026.As such, the petition says that there is no emergent necessity to run the SIR alongside the local body polls."Contrary to the constitutional and statutory mandate for completion of the 2025 elections to the LSGIs in the State before 21st of December, 2025, there is no constitutional or statutory mandate or any emergent necessity to complete the SIR simultaneously with the LSGI elections in the State. The ECI has also not made out any special reasons for conduct of a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in the State. Therefore, no prejudice will be caused to any sides if the SIR stands deferred in the State till the completion of LSGI elections in the State," the plea states.The petition has been filed through Advocate CK Sasi. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.