The Supreme Court (SC) has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to adopt a "sympathetic view" when considering requests from state governments for extensions to the deadline for submitting enumeration forms under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The court emphasized the importance of considering the "ground realities" in various states, including Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, conveyed this message to the poll body. The court's direction came in response to pleas from state governments seeking more time for the Special Intensive Revision exercise. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Kerala government, argued that a significant number of electors, potentially around 25 lakh, could be excluded from the draft list if the deadline wasn't extended. He pointed out the enumeration phase in Kerala was set to conclude on December 18. Sibal further illustrated the potential for errors, stating instances where one spouse might be included while the other is excluded, leading to the deletion of both.
The ECI had previously revised the schedule for Kerala, extending the enumeration deadline to December 18, with the draft voter list scheduled for publication on December 23. Similarly, the revised deadline for Uttar Pradesh was set for December 26.
The bench has scheduled the pleas challenging the constitutionality of the SIR exercise for January 6, which is the date the ECI is expected to begin presenting its counterarguments. During the previous hearing, the Supreme Court made an oral remark, emphasizing that the SIR of electoral rolls being conducted by the ECI should not be excessively scrutinized over procedural matters.
Notably, in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India recently released constituency-wise data revealing that over 58 lakh names were deleted during the first phase of the SIR process. This large-scale revision has drawn criticism and sparked political debate, particularly concerning the disparities in deletions across different constituencies. The ECI is expected to release the draft electoral rolls soon, which may lead to further scrutiny and contestation over inclusions and exclusions.
During the SIR hearings, it was argued that the EC should not act like a "suspicious neighbour" when revising electoral rolls. The Supreme Court also acknowledged the socio-economic factors behind migration, with Justice Bagchi noting that the movement of workers across states should not be equated with illegal migration.
