Kerala's Election Crisis: Supreme Court Steps In Amid Roll Revision

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, SVN Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to hear the matter on November 26 after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state government, submitted that the SIR exercise was proceeding even as Kerala prepared to conduct local body elections in the second week of December.

"Issue notice. All these petitions will be heard on November 26," the Justice Kant-led Bench ordered, while tagging similar petitions filed by the CPI(M), CPI and Indian Union Muslim League.

While the Kerala government has sought only a postponement of the SIR, the political parties have challenged the legality of the SIR process in the state.

The Kerala government has argued that undertaking the SIR simultaneously with LSGI elections would trigger a severe manpower crisis.

In its petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the state government 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 ECI 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