Move Supreme Court: Kerala High Court on plea by State to defer SIR; order to be delivered tomorrow

The Kerala High Court on Thursday suggested that the State government should approach the Supreme Court for deferment of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the State..The plea filed by the Kerala government was heard by Justice VG Arun who opined that the issue should be heard by the Supreme Court which is already hearing petitions challenging SIR in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal."I still hold the view that it should be for the Supreme Court to decide because all other matters are being considered. I am not saying that there is no power of judicial review vested with this Court. I am only saying that as the matter is under consideration before the Supreme Court, it will be appropriate for this Court, or rather inappropriate for this Court to go into the question as to whether the revision can go on or there should be a deferment of the SIR revision process. The other option is, abide by what the Supreme Court has said and defer the writ proceedings, which will also be of no benefit. Ultimately, if an order is passed, that will hamper the process. This is also a time-bound process and the validity of which is being considered," the judge remarked orally.Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup, appearing for the State government, said that the government is not challenging SIR but is only seeking postponement of the same."Kerala has not challenged the validity of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The writ petition is strictly limited to seeking deferment of the SIR in Kerala," the AG said."Wouldn’t it be ideal to take this before Supreme Court? Saying this peculiar aspect that you have pointed out, as far as the State is concerned, because of the ensuing elections. Would it not be better for the Supreme Court?" the judge asked.The Court eventually proceeded to reserve its verdict in the matter. The order will be pronounced tomorrow..The plea by Kerala was filed in light of the upcoming Panchayat elections in the state. As per the plea, the elections would require about 1,76,000 government personnel apart from 68,000 security personnel. Besides, the conduct of SIR would require the services of additional personnel numbering 25,668. "This puts a severe strain on the State administration bringing routine administrative work to a standstill," the petition said.The same officials are to be deployed for duties in connection with SIR and panchayat elections."The pool of trained and election-experienced staff is finite, which constrains real-world deployment. Parting with such number of officers for simultaneous SIR and LSGI elections is a near impossibility, apart from possibly putting the State to an administrative impasse," it was submitted..Besides, while there is a Constitutional mandate to conduct the panchayat elections before December 21 this year, there is no such urgency when it comes to SIR, the State said.As per Section 21(2) of the Representation of People Act of 1950, the electoral roll has to be revised, unless otherwise directed by ECI, before each general election to the House of People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State.Since the process of the general elections to the State Legislative Assembly ought to be completed only before May 24, 2026, there is no emergent necessity to carry out the SIR simultaneously with the panchayat elections in the State, it was argued."We have expressed the view that preparation, revision of electoral rolls is a continuous process not connected with any particular election," AG Kurup told the Court..The Court then asked ECI whether the SIR in the State is in the backdrop of parliamentary or assembly elections..Senior Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for ECI, highlighted that it is in the backdrop of assembly elections due in Kerala next year."It is in the backdrop of the ensuing legislative assembly election in Kerala, which is due in the month of May. So the elections will be held in March- April. Therefore, it is in the backdrop of that this SIR has to be completed, not the time shortage is there," he said."What do you say about the AG’s submission that there'll be an impasse or a stalemate as well as police coordination?" the Court asked ECI."This is wholly unfounded because the election commissions are coordinating. Yes, we are interacting, we are coordinating, there have been a meetings with all these officers and the collectors and the area RO’s, etc along with the State Election Commission. The State Election Commission is not coming forward to say that we are not having enough staff or that we are finding any difficulty. It is the State alone which is saying that there will be an impasse. The state is saying this not because there will be a conflict of interest between the SIR and the ongoing election process," Dwivedi replied..The Court after hearing the arguments reserved its verdict. The order will be pronounced tomorrow..The Supreme Court is already seized of petitions challenging SIR in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.The ECI had first directed a Special Intensive Revision in June 2025 for Bihar. Multiple petitions, including those filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Federation for Indian Women (NFIW), are already pending before the Supreme Court challenging that order.Despite those challenges being sub-judice, the ECI on October 27 2025 extended the SIR to other States and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala. The SIR in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have been challenged before the Supreme Court which issued notice on those petitions on November 11.The Bihar SIR was meanwhile completed since the Supreme Court did not stay the process. The SIR in all these States will be subject to the outcome of the petitions before the apex court. .[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.