The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a petition filed by the Kerala government seeking deferment of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls presently underway in the state.

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice SVN Bhatti directed the ECI to file its response and listed the matter for further hearing on November 26.

Appearing for the State, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the SIR exercise would clash with the elections to Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGI) in Kerala, scheduled to be held in two phases on December 9 and 11, 2025. He submitted that conducting both processes simultaneously would precipitate an administrative impasse and undermine statutory timelines prescribed under Articles 243E and 243U of the Constitution; the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994; and the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.

Sibal underscored that elections to 1,200 local bodies comprising 23,612 wards must be concluded before December 21, 2025, as mandated by constitutional and statutory frameworks. The State Election Commission has already fixed polling for December 9 and 11, with counting scheduled to begin on December 13 and the electoral process to conclude by December 18.

The petitioner further pointed out that the conduct of LSGI elections necessitated the deployment of nearly 1.76 lakh government and quasi-government personnel, along with around 68,000 police and security staff. The SIR, operating in parallel, would require an additional 25,668 officials, an institutional burden that the State contends would severely disrupt ordinary administrative functioning and precipitate an operational deadlock.

It further contended that the SIR’s prescribed timelines, including enumeration until December 4, submission of particulars by December 9 and publication of the final rolls on February 7, 2026, were in direct and irreconcilable conflict with the election schedule.

The Senior Advocate submitted that the Commission had failed to demonstrate any pressing constitutional or electoral exigency warranting immediate initiation of the special revision. With the 2024 Lok Sabha elections concluded and the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly not scheduled to dissolve until May 2026, the Counsel argued that no extraordinary circumstances justified the present urgency to conduct the SIR.

The Bench also issued notice on independent petitions filed by the Communist Party of India.

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