SC rejects Keralam SIR deadline extension, keeps voter complaints open

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to extend the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) deadline in Keralam but has ensured that voters excluded from the draft electoral rolls can still challenge their removal through written complaints to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana observed that the revision process was continuous and directed the ECI to examine representations concerning people who had missed the enumeration deadline. The court said the petitions from Keralam would remain pending until the grievances were addressed.

Appearing for CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan, advocate G. Prakash submitted that many among the more than 24 lakh people whose names were deleted from the draft rolls had been unable to file complaints. He sought an extension of the deadline, a demand strongly backed by the Keralam government.

The ECI argued that the election process in Keralam had been completed and that the petitions had consequently become irrelevant. However, the court directed the poll body to examine the complaints and submit a report. It also granted the Commission four weeks to respond to allegations of large-scale deletions.

Meanwhile, the ECI has revised the SIR schedule in Delhi and five states — Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Nagaland — following the Supreme Court's intervention. The extensions cover different stages of the exercise, including the filing of claims and objections in Delhi and Maharashtra and the disposal of claims in the other states.