The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission of India to examine whether the deadline for submitting enumeration forms in Kerala’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls can be extended by another week beyond December 11.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, sitting with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, noted that local body elections in the state are scheduled for December 9 and 11, with counting set for December 13. Around 1.76 lakh state government employees are currently deployed on election duty, which, the court observed, may make it difficult for them to complete SIR formalities within the existing deadline.
Taking note of these concerns, the court granted the Kerala government and other petitioners liberty to submit a formal representation to the Election Commission by 5 pm on Wednesday, citing the reasons for seeking an extension.
The bench directed the Election Commission to consider the request “sympathetically and objectively” and to take a decision within two days. “If the date of enumeration is extended beyond December 13, then those left out due to local body polls can take part in it,” the Chief Justice said.
During the hearing, senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi and Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, defended the ongoing revision exercise. Dwivedi told the court that local body elections and the SIR were “distinct exercises with separate workforces” and that the Kerala State Election Commission had already exempted SIR staff from local election duties.
He added that the deadline for submission had earlier been extended from December 4 to December 11. According to the Commission, more than 98 percent of enumeration forms had already been distributed and over 88 percent digitised.
The bench also remarked on the unusual situation where the state election authority appeared content with the arrangements while political parties were objecting. “The government body does not have a problem, but the political parties have,” the Chief Justice observed.
Even so, the court stressed that government employees should not be overburdened, especially when many are handling simultaneous election-related responsibilities.
