THE KERALA GOVERNMENT on Thursday approached the Supreme Court seeking a postponement of the Special Intensive Revision (‘SIR’) of electoral rolls in the State, stating that the exercise conflicts with the ongoing local bodies election process in the State and would create serious administrative strain and undermine the smooth conduct of polls.
In a petition filed through the Chief Secretary, the State said the manner in which the SIR is being undertaken is “not conducive to the democratic polity of the country” and urged the Court to direct the Election Commission of India (‘ECI’) to postpone the revision exercise until the local body elections conclude.
The plea asked the Court to direct the ECI to “defer the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in the State of Kerala till December 21, 2025,” by which time the ongoing elections to the Local Self-Government Institutions (‘LSGIs’) would be fully completed.
The State Election Commission has scheduled polling for December 9 and 11, with counting on December 13 and the entire process set to end on December 18. Kerala has more than 1,200 local bodies across 23,612 wards, and the government told the Court that the elections already require the deployment of 1.76 lakh staff and nearly 68,000 police and security personnel.
According to the petition, the SIR would require an additional 25,668 personnel, which the Kerala government said would put a severe strain on the state administration, bringing routine administrative work to a standstill.
