New Delhi, Jan 15 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publicly display the list of voters deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala, taking note of concerns that nearly 24 lakh names were removed from the draft rolls without adequate opportunity for objections.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the manner in which the SIR process was carried out in the State.
The petitioners contended that large-scale deletions had deprived affected voters of their statutory right to file objections.
Referring to its earlier directions in a similar exercise undertaken in Bihar, the Bench observed that draft electoral lists had been directed to be displayed publicly in that case as well.
Accordingly, the Court directed that the list of deleted voters in Kerala be uploaded on public websites, if not already done, to ensure transparency in the revision process.
Taking into account the difficulties faced by citizens, the Court further observed that the ECI may consider extending the deadline for filing objections to the draft electoral rolls. The matter has been posted for further hearing after the ECI and State authorities file their compliance reports.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, opposed any deferment of the SIR process and submitted that 99 per cent of enumeration forms had already been supplied to voters, with around 50 per cent digitised. He said the SIR was being conducted in coordination with the Kerala State Election Commission (SEC) and that administrative arrangements were in place to ensure that the exercise does not clash with the local body elections.
Dwivedi submitted that both commissions were working in close coordination, meetings with district officials had been held, and there was no administrative impediment to carrying out the SIR alongside election preparations. He added that only a limited number of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were required for the exercise and that the SEC had confirmed that its work was not being hampered.
Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Ranjit Kumar, appearing for political parties and the State, sought an early hearing in view of the impending local body elections.
They clarified that no rejoinder to the ECI’s counter-affidavit was proposed, but an urgent listing was requested to ensure administrative clarity.
The petitions have been filed by the Kerala government and leaders of various political parties, including IUML General Secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, KPCC President Sunny Joseph, and CPI(M) State Secretary M.V. Govindan Master.
The State has not challenged the validity of the SIR notification at this stage but has sought postponement of the exercise, arguing that conducting it simultaneously with local body elections would create serious administrative difficulties.
Earlier, on November 21, the Supreme Court had issued notice on Kerala’s plea seeking deferment of the SIR process. The State, through Advocate-on-Record C.K. Sasi, has submitted that the overlap between the SIR and the local self-government elections could disrupt the constitutional mandate to complete the elections within the prescribed timeline and potentially bring administration to a near standstill.
Local body elections in Kerala are scheduled for December 9 and 11, 2026, covering around 1,200 local self-government institutions and over 23,600 wards, with counting slated for December 13.
Given this schedule, the State has maintained that the entire administrative machinery must remain focused on the electoral process.
The Indian union Muslim League (IUML) has also independently challenged the ECI’s decision to conduct a State-wide SIR, alleging that the exercise is arbitrary, unconstitutional, and likely to result in mass voter exclusion ahead of the local body elections.
The IUML petition has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by its General Secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, through Advocate-on-Record R.S. Jena.
