The Court directed the Kerala government to file a fresh representation before the ECI by Wednesday. It also ordered the ECI to announce a favourable decision within the next two days.
Published Dec 02, 2025 | 6:25 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 02, 2025 | 6:25 PM
Supreme Court
Synopsis: Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak, representing the state government, filed a writ petition before the apex court, arguing that the simultaneous deployment of personnel for both exercises would cripple the routine functioning of the administration.
The Supreme Court has recommended a further extension of the deadline for submission of enumeration forms as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi made the recommendation to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, 2 December, in the light of the two-phase local body elections, slated for 9 and 11 December. The counting of votes is on 13 December.
The ECI has already extended the deadline for the submission of forms to 11 December from 4 December.
The court observed that officials who have been assigned election duties should get adequate time to upload the forms. “You extend it more so anyone missed out will also get an opportunity,” CJI told Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who represented the ECI, Live Law reported.
Kerala has sought an additional week’s time to complete the submission process. The court observed that the request was “just and fair”, and the ECI should consider it.
The Court directed the Kerala government to file a fresh representation before the ECI by Wednesday. It also ordered the ECI to announce a favourable decision within the next two days.
The ECI, on 26 November, told the Supreme Court an extension was not required since 99 percent of voters had already received the forms, and 50 percent of them had been digitised.
Kerala sought a postponement, arguing that holding the SIR simultaneously with local elections would strain the administration and trigger a governance crisis.
While requesting the deferring of SIR, Kerala cited a potential administrative breakdown if the process continued alongside the local body elections currently underway in the state.
Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak, representing the state government, filed a writ petition before the apex court, arguing that the simultaneous deployment of personnel for both exercises would cripple the routine functioning of the administration.
In the petition, the government pointed out that conducting the SIR at this juncture would strain the government machinery.
According to the plea, 1,76,000 officials have already been deployed for the conduct of local body elections. An additional 68,000 police personnel are involved in ensuring security. The SIR process requires 25,668 more officials, creating a situation that the government warned would lead to “administrative gridlock.”
The petition stressed that the constitutional mandate requires newly elected local body governing bodies to assume office by 21 December, making the election process non-negotiable and resource-intensive.
Deploying government staff simultaneously for SIR would, the state argued, disrupt essential services.
The Chief Secretary also informed the Supreme Court that hurriedly undertaking the SIR could result in widespread errors in the voters’ roll, defeating the very purpose of the review. The state government had earlier moved the Kerala High Court, challenging the timing of the SIR.
Justice VG Arun, after hearing both the state government and the Election Commission of India (ECI), observed that it would be more appropriate for the government to seek relief from the Supreme Court.
Subsequently, Jayathilak submitted the plea before the apex court seeking a direction to temporarily suspend the SIR process until the completion of local body elections.
