The Supreme Court on Tuesday advised the Election Commission of India (ECI) to further extend the time limit for submitting enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala, considering the ongoing preparations for local body elections in the State.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was informed that the earlier deadline of December 4 had already been pushed to December 11. Local body polling in Kerala is scheduled on December 9 and 11, with vote counting on December 13.

 

The bench noted that officials involved in the election process must have adequate time to upload completed forms. “Extend it further so that those left out also get an opportunity,” the CJI told Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI.

 

Terming the prayer for an extension “just and fair”, the Court permitted the State of Kerala to make a formal representation explaining the grounds for further extension. The Court directed the ECI to examine and decide on the request “objectively and sympathetically” within two days.

 

The matter was heard along with petitions filed by the State Government, Indian Union Muslim League, KPCC President Sunny Joseph, CPI(M) State Secretary Govindan Master, CPI and others seeking that SIR be deferred due to the ongoing poll process.

 

No disruption to elections from SIR, say ECI & SEC

 

The State Election Commission (SEC) assured the Court that the SIR exercise is not obstructing conduct of local elections, as election-related personnel have been exempted from SIR responsibilities.

 

Dwivedi stated that distribution of SIR forms has not hampered the election process as Kerala has deployed around 1.76 lakh staff exclusively for the SEC, while 25,468 personnel are working on SIR duties. He added that over 98.8% of the forms have been distributed, and nearly 80% digitised upon receipt. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh also appeared for the ECI.

 

Appearing for IUML leader P.K. Kunhalikutty, Advocate Haris Beeran highlighted a “unique concern” in Kerala due to its high number of non-resident citizens. More than 35 lakh Keralites live abroad — mostly in Gulf nations — and although applications can be filed online, Booth Level Officers insist on physical verification at the applicant’s residence. This requirement, he argued, makes voter registration practically impossible for NRIs who rarely visit India. The bench directed that this issue may also be included in the State’s representation.

 

Earlier, the Kerala High Court had declined to interfere with the SIR timeline and suggested that the State approach the Supreme Court, which is already dealing with related matters.