Supreme Court issues notice to ECI on Kerala’s plea seeking to postpone SIR; hearing on Wednesday

Appearing for the Kerala government, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal informed the Supreme Court that local body polls in the state are scheduled to be held on December 9 and 11.

Issuing notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the three-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant, S V N Bhatti, and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to post the matter for November 26. (File Photo)

The Supreme Court Friday issued notice on the Kerala government’s petition seeking postponement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The state has sought deferment of the exercise, which is currently underway, till the end of the local body polls that are due next month.

Issuing notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the three-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant, S V N Bhatti, and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to post the matter for November 26.

The bench also issued notice on petitions by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary M V Govindan Master, Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary Binoy Viswam, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) general secretary P K Kunhalikutty, and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph. The CPI has also prayed for quashing the SIR notification.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Kerala government, said there was some urgency as the local body polls in the state are scheduled to be held on December 9 and 11. The results will be announced on December 13.

The bench is seized of petitions challenging the SIR process in Bihar, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. On November 11, the court had issued notice to the ECI on the petitions against the exercise in Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the deaths of three Booth Level Officers (BLOs) amid multiple complaints of “excessive workload and unreasonable demands and targets” have threatened to disrupt the SIR process in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan.