New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to “sympathetically” consider extending the deadline for submission of enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala, ahead of the upcoming Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGI) elections in the state.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued the direction while hearing petitions filed by the Kerala government seeking a postponement of the SIR exercise, along with petitions from political parties including the CPI-M, CPI, and Indian Union Muslim League, challenging the validity of the ECI’s order for intensive revision of the voters’ list.
During the hearing, the ECI informed the bench that the original deadline of December 4 had already been extended to December 11. Local body polling in Kerala is scheduled for December 9 and 11, with counting on December 13.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, submitted that the SIR process was progressing smoothly and would not disrupt the local body elections. “More than 98 per cent of forms have been distributed and over 88 per cent have been digitised,” Dwivedi said, adding that the state government had assigned 25,468 personnel exclusively for the SIR, while 1.76 lakh staff were earmarked solely for the State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct the elections.
The SEC supported the ECI’s position, stating that it faced “no impediment” to conducting the polls, as the staff assigned to the elections were exempt from SIR duties. However, petitioners argued that political workers and local residents engaged in the LSGI elections were unable to participate effectively in the verification exercise.
Taking note of the submissions, the Supreme Court allowed the Kerala government to submit a formal proposal to the ECI seeking a further extension of the enumeration form submission deadline. “You (the ECI) extend it further so anyone who missed out will also get an opportunity,” the apex court told Dwivedi.
The bench further remarked, “You may continue with the process going on, but don’t ask the state government employees. We are trying to solve a problem, and hopefully we will be able to resolve it.” It added that while the administrative machinery appeared capable of handling both exercises, “only some political parties have problems.” The ECI has been asked to take a decision on the state government’s proposal by Thursday, December 4.
With IANS inputs