Kerala's Election Crisis: Supreme Court to Hear SIR Plea Amid Poll Rush

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai said the matter would be listed on Friday (November 21), after the counsel informed the top court that the SIR process is underway even as Kerala is set to hold local body elections in the second week of December.

The Kerala government has itself approached the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the SIR exercise, following the Kerala High Court’s refusal last week to entertain its writ petition seeking deferment of the process.

Citing severe manpower constraints, the state government has argued that conducting the SIR simultaneously with the LSGI elections would trigger an “administrative impasse”.

In its petition under Article 32, Kerala has highlighted that over 1,76,000 government and quasi-government personnel and 68,000 security staff are required for the local body polls. The SIR, the petition said, demands an additional 25,668 officials, many of whom are drawn from the same limited pool of trained election staff.

“There is a constitutional mandate to complete the LSGI elections before December 21, 2025. Simultaneously undertaking the SIR will strain the administration and adversely affect the smooth conduct of the elections,” read the state government’s plea, referring to the statutory deadlines under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.

It contended that while local body polls must mandatorily be completed by December 21, there is no emergent necessity to complete the SIR at this stage, especially since Assembly elections are due only by May 2026.

“Undermining the quality of verification by needlessly rushing it through, when constitutional elections are underway, goes counter to the democratic right of franchise,” the petition stated.

Before the Kerala High Court, the Election Commission of India had contended that SIR is part of a nationwide exercise and more than half the process is already complete, adding that halting it mid-way would disrupt preparations for the next electoral cycle.

A single-judge Bench of Justice V.G. Arun had observed that since similar petitions challenging the SIR of voters’ list in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal are already pending before the Supreme Court, “judicial discipline and comity” required the Kerala High Court to refrain from adjudicating the matter.

- IANS