New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed petitioners requesting more time for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh to submit their representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI), which will decide on the requests by December 31.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued the direction while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the ongoing SIR exercise in various states and seeking additional time for completion of the enumeration process.
The CJI Surya Kant-led Bench directed the ECI to decide on the representations by December 31 and report back to the apex court.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, alleged large-scale deletion of voters’ names during the SIR exercise in Kerala.
“Twenty-five lakh names have been deleted. The husband’s name is not there, but the wife’s name is. When the authorities realise this, they delete the wife as well,” Sibal submitted, adding that December 18 was the last date of the enumeration phase in the state.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra questioned the urgency of conducting the intensive revision exercise in Uttar Pradesh when Assembly elections are scheduled only in 2027.
“Let the ECI respond within three weeks,” the bench said, adding that senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll body, would commence submissions on behalf of the ECI on January 6, 2026.
The Supreme Court refused to hear a separate plea that raised concerns about confidential data being shared with volunteers in the enumeration phase.
Raising concerns over data security, the petition argued that the involvement of volunteers in the process had led to citizens’ personal data being shared with private individuals.
Bihar was the first state to undergo the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), beginning on June 24, 2025. Twelve other states and Union Territories, including Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry, are currently undergoing the same stringent process.
(IANS)
