The Supreme Court is set to hear today the petitions challenging the state’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list. The hearing will be led by a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant.
The petitions seek an immediate stay on the SIR procedures, raising concerns about their impact during the local body election period.
However, the Central Election Commission has firmly stated in its affidavit that the SIR will not be postponed. The Commission clarified that the local body election procedures are already complete and that both processes can run parallel without any disruption.
Echoing this stance, the State Election Commission also informed the court that the SIR exercise does not hinder the conduct of local body elections.
The Kerala government, on the other hand, has urged the court to temporarily halt the SIR, arguing that carrying out both processes simultaneously could strain the administrative machinery and trigger a governance crisis. This concern was highlighted by the Chief Secretary in the state’s writ petition.
Previously, the Kerala High Court had refused to intervene and directed the state to approach the Supreme Court for relief.
Meanwhile, the timeline for the public remains unchanged: voters can submit their information forms until December 11, and the draft voters’ list is scheduled to be released on December 16.
The Supreme Court’s decision today is expected to significantly shape the next steps in Kerala’s election-related procedures.
