KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday suggested that it would be appropriate for the state government to approach the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s decision to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala.
During the hearing of the petition filed by the state government, Justice V G Arun said it would be better to approach the Supreme Court, as several other states have also filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) against the SIR. The court will pass an order on Friday on the state’s petition seeking deferment of the SIR until the local body elections are over.
Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup argued that the state has not questioned the validity of the Election Commission’s SIR and that the writ petition is confined solely to seeking its deferment within the state until the local body elections are concluded.
The state government contended that conducting the SIR simultaneously with the local body elections would hinder their smooth conduct. The general elections to the LSGIs are a massive exercise requiring the deployment of 1,76,000 personnel from government and quasi-government services for election-related duties, along with an additional 68,000 police and other security personnel for election-related security duties.
The state pointed out that elections to the LSGIs in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, and Ernakulam have been scheduled for December 9, while those in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod are scheduled for December 11. The election notification will be issued on November 14. The last date for filing nominations is November 21, scrutiny will be on November 22, and withdrawals will be allowed until November 24. Counting will be held on December 13, and the last date for completing the election process is December 18. The guidelines show that the SIR involves a comprehensive and cumbersome procedure.
The state would face an administrative deadlock if it conducted the LSGI elections and the SIR simultaneously, the Advocate General submitted.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, counsel for the Election Commission of India, submitted that the SIR exercise was announced as early as October 27. BLOs were appointed and trained, and the SIR began on November 4. By now, 55 percent of the enumeration work has been completed, and the entire process is to be concluded within one month, ending on December 4. This exercise involves only obtaining the elector’s signature.
The enumeration forms are pre-filled with the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers, addresses, and other details. These forms are taken door to door by BLOs and agents of political parties, who obtain electors’ signatures before uploading the completed forms. More than half the exercise has already been completed, and the process is underway. The state should have approached the Supreme Court, Dwivedi submitted, adding that any intervention at this point by the High Court would interrupt the process mid-way.
