The Supreme Court of India has intervened in a dispute between the Kerala government and the Election Commission (EC) regarding the timeline for updating the state's voter list. On Tuesday, the apex court asked the EC to consider, with sympathy, the state's request for extending the deadline for the Summary Revision of the electoral roll.
Court's Directive to State and Election Body
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued a clear set of instructions. The court directed the Kerala government to formally submit its representation to the Election Commission within the next 24 hours. Upon receiving this request, the EC has been asked to consider it sympathetically and pass a formal order on the matter within two days.
The core of Kerala's plea was a request to defer the finalization of the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of the voter list until December 21. This would grant an extension of one week beyond the current schedule, which coincides with the conclusion of the local body elections on December 13.
Election Commission's Stance on Simultaneous Exercises
Representing the Election Commission, senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi and Maninder Singh presented data to counter the state's concerns about logistical overlap. They informed the bench that as of November 30, significant progress had already been made in the SIR process.
Over 98% of enumeration forms have been distributed to households, and more than 81% have been digitised. Dwivedi elaborated on the manpower allocation, stating that out of a total of 5.5 lakh government employees in Kerala, only 25,468 have been designated as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) for the SIR work.
An additional 1.76 lakh personnel have been assigned for the smooth conduct of the local body elections. The EC's counsel argued that since the two sets of personnel are engaged in distinctly different tasks with no overlap, neither process should suffer. The Kerala State Election Commission (SEC), which is overseeing the local polls, also assured the court that the election process is proceeding without hiccups and staff will be free after December 13.
Contrasting Views and the Road Ahead
The EC and SEC maintained that since they are facing no operational problems in conducting both exercises simultaneously, the state government should not have an issue either. However, a contrasting viewpoint was presented by advocate Ranjit Kumar, who appeared for a politician petitioner. He argued that the model code of conduct for local elections restricts political workers from freely visiting constituencies, which hampers the SIR-related verification and outreach activities.
The Supreme Court's order now places the ball in the Election Commission's court, urging a sympathetic consideration of the state's logistical concerns while acknowledging the EC's reported progress. The next few days will be crucial as the formal request is made and the EC deliberates on granting the one-week extension to December 21.
