KERALA HIGH COURT ADVISES STATE TO MOVE SUPREME COURT ON PLEA TO POSTPONE SIR, RESERVES ORDER:

The Kerala High Court on Thursday reserved its order on the State government’s plea seeking to defer the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming local body elections. The matter was heard by Justice V.G. Arun, who during the hearing indicated that the issue might be more appropriately addressed before the Supreme Court, as similar matters were already pending there.

Justice Arun observed that while the High Court possesses powers of judicial review, it may not be proper to adjudicate on a matter currently under consideration before the apex court. The judge noted that since the Supreme Court has already requested jurisdictional High Courts to keep writ proceedings in such cases in abeyance, any intervention by the Kerala High Court could interfere with the ongoing process. The court added that if an order were to be passed, it might hamper the time-bound electoral revision exercise, the validity of which is under scrutiny by the Supreme Court.

The plea was filed by the State government seeking postponement of the SIR, citing administrative difficulties in simultaneously conducting the local self-government institution (LSGI) elections and the voter list revision. The Kerala State Election Commission has already announced that the local body elections will be held in two phases on December 9 and 11, with counting scheduled for December 13, and the entire election process to be completed by December 18.

Advocate General (AG) Gopalakrishna Kurup, appearing for the State, argued that conducting both the SIR and local elections at the same time would cause a severe administrative burden. He submitted that approximately 1,76,000 personnel are required for election duties, along with an additional 68,000 security staff. Furthermore, the SIR process would demand another 25,668 officials, creating what he described as an “administrative impasse” that would bring regular governmental work to a halt. The AG urged that the SIR be deferred until December 21 to allow the administration to focus on the elections.

Responding to a court query noting that the SIR is also a time-bound process and that Kerala was already lagging behind other states, the AG maintained that there was no urgency to complete the revision before December 20. He emphasized that the election process was already in full swing, and simultaneous implementation of both exercises would be unmanageable for the State machinery.

Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), opposed the plea, asserting that more than half of the SIR process had already been completed. He argued that any intervention at this stage would disrupt an exercise that was progressing smoothly. Dwivedi explained that the ECI and State officials were coordinating effectively to ensure that both the elections and the voter list revision were conducted harmoniously. He added that there was only minimal overlap of about four to five days between the two processes.

Dwivedi further informed the court that preparation and training for the SIR began in October, and the enumeration phase was currently underway. As per the ECI’s timeline, the rationalization of polling stations would be completed by December 4, followed by preparation of draft rolls between December 5 and 8. The draft electoral rolls would be published on December 9, coinciding with the first phase of local elections. Objections could be filed from December 9 to January 8, 2026, and the final electoral rolls would be released on February 7, 2026. After hearing both sides at length, Justice Arun reserved the matter for orders, which are expected to be delivered shortly.