Supreme Court issues notice to Election Commission on pleas against SIR in Kerala, UP

While the Bihar matter has been argued repeatedly and the elections there have already concluded, petitions relating to Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are still awaiting detailed responses from the EC.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a fresh set of challenges to the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across several states, including Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, reported news agency PTI.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, SVN Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Election Commission (EC) on all newly-filed matters and confirmed that different petitions arising from various states would be heard on separate dates.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing a petitioner from Kerala, pointed out that local body elections are also scheduled to be held in the state and, therefore, there is some urgency involved in the matter, reported LiveLaw.

Responding to the concerns, the bench said that the petitions concerning Kerala would be listed on November 26, while matters relating to the SIR exercise in the remaining states would be taken up in the first or second week of December.

The bench also entertained the Kerala Government’s plea, which seeks only a postponement of the SIR in the state rather than questioning the legality of the notification itself.

The State had earlier approached the Kerala High Court but was advised to move the Supreme Court, since the apex court is already examining similar issues on a pan-India basis.

Kerala’s petition argues that conducting the SIR now would create a lot of administrative difficulties, particularly because the local self-government polls are scheduled for December 9 and 11, 2025, with counting on December 13.

Under the current SIR schedule, Booth Level Officer enumeration must conclude by December 4, and the draft voters’ list is set to be released on December 9 -- the very day of the first phase of polling.

Along with the State’s filing, the court also issued notices on petitions submitted by Indian Union Muslim League General Secretary PK Kunhalikutty, KPCC President Sunny Joseph and CPI(M) Secretary MV Govindan Master.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar appeared for the CPI(M) leader, while advocate Haris Beeran represented the IUML petitioner.

The Supreme Court is simultaneously dealing with challenges concerning SIR exercises in other states, including Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

While the Bihar matter has been argued repeatedly and the elections there have already concluded, petitions relating to Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are still awaiting detailed responses from the EC.

On November 11, the Court had also sought separate replies from the poll panel on pleas filed by the DMK, the CPI(M), West Bengal Congress and leaders of the Trinamool Congress, who have questioned the SIR process in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The batch of cases questioning the EC’s decision to conduct a nationwide SIR remains pending before the apex court.

With inputs from PTI and LiveLaw