Today, On 21st November, The Supreme Court has issued notice on Kerala’s request to postpone the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Kerala argued that ongoing administrative pressures and local body election timelines make immediate revision difficult for officials and local institutions.
The Supreme Court responded to a plea from Kerala that seeks to delay the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal represented the State of Kerala during proceedings.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant scheduled the hearing for November 26, 2025, coinciding with other related matters.
Additionally, the court has issued notice regarding a petition that challenges the SIR process in Uttar Pradesh.
Kerala argues that the SIR cannot be executed concurrently with the forthcoming elections for the State’s Local Self-Government Institutions.
In the petition submitted by AoR CK Sasi, the State emphasizes that overlapping timelines will disrupt the statutory requirement to complete local body elections before December 21, 2025, potentially causing significant administrative challenges.
The State insists it is not contesting the validity of the SIR at this moment but reserves the right to do so later if deemed necessary. The immediate concern is the timing of the revision.
The Kerala State Election Commission already announced local body elections for December 9 and 11, 2025, which encompass 1,200 Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGIs) and 23,612 wards.
The election notification is expected to be released on November 14, with the nomination process set to close on November 21 and counting scheduled for December 13.
Given this timeline, the State contends that all administrative resources must be dedicated exclusively to these elections. Kerala points out that the local body elections will require the deployment of 176,000 government and quasi-government staff, alongside another 68,000 security personnel.
In contrast, the SIR necessitates an additional 25,668 officials.
Utilizing the same trained personnel for both actions could hinder routine governance and compromise the quality of both electoral processes, the petition asserts.
The government highlights that the SIR, per the Election Commission’s guidelines, is a thorough and time-intensive task.
The existing schedule mandates enumeration by Booth Level Officers by December 4, with data submission due by December 9, which clashes directly with polling and counting dates.
The finalized revised electoral rolls are set to be published on February 7, 2026. Kerala stresses that, while the Constitution requires local body elections to be completed by December 21, 2025, there is no equivalent mandate for the SIR at this juncture.
The State argues that neither constitutional provisions nor the Representation of the People Acts impose a requirement for an expedited revision prior to the 2026 Assembly elections, which only need to be completed by May 24, 2026.
The State further claims that no urgent situation has been presented to justify the hurried revision.
The petition notes that the Chief Secretary had previously communicated with the Election Commission, requesting a postponement of the SIR, but this request remains unaddressed.
Citing concerns over potential administrative paralysis and the risk of undermining both electoral processes, Kerala is urging the Supreme Court to order a delay of the SIR until after local body elections conclude.
In a related development, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has also approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission’s decision to implement a State-wide SIR in Kerala. The party alleges that the revision process is arbitrary, unconstitutional, and timed to facilitate the mass exclusion of voters before the local body elections.
The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by General Secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty through AoR R.S. Jena, targets the ECI’s Notification dated October 27, 2025, and a subsequent Press Note from November 4, 2025, as they apply the SIR to Kerala.
The petitioner argues that this exercise effectively constitutes a comprehensive re-verification of the entire electorate, despite the State having recently undergone a full Special Summary Revision (SSR-2025), which was completed with the publication of finalized rolls on January 6, 2025.
Furthermore, the plea states , “there is an ongoing continuous revision under Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, rendering the SIR wholly unnecessary,”
Case Title: State of Kerala vs. The Election Commission of India & Ors.
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