Kerala SIR: Supreme Court Asks ECI to Display Deleted Voter Names, Consider Deadline Extension

The Court took note of concerns that nearly 24 lakh names have been removed from the draft rolls without affording sufficient opportunity for objections.

The Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant was hearing petitions challenging the conduct of the revision process in the state.

The petitioners argued that the large-scale deletions had deprived voters of their right to file objections as mandated under the law.

Referring to its earlier order in the Bihar SIR case, the Bench said, “In Bihar, we had directed that the draft lists be displayed publicly.” The Court thus directed that the list of deleted voters be displayed on public websites, if not already done, to ensure transparency.

Considering the difficulties being faced by citizens, the Court also observed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) may consider extending the deadline for filing objections to the draft rolls.

The matter will be taken up again after the ECI and State authorities file their compliance reports.

Previously, the ECI had opposed any deferment despite the State’s local body elections scheduled for December 9 and 11. Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, had informed the Court that 99% of enumeration forms had already been supplied to voters and 50% of them had been digitised.

Dwivedi had emphasized that the SIR process was proceeding in coordination with the State Election Commission (SEC) and that administrative arrangements were in place to avoid conflicts with the local elections. “The State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India are collaborating. Meetings with district officials have been conducted. There is no problem, we only need a small section of BLOs. The commissions are not facing any difficulty. The SEC has confirmed our work is not hampered,” Dwivedi had submitted.

Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Ranjit Kumar, representing political parties and the State, had requested an earlier hearing than the initially proposed December 9 date, citing the imminent local elections. They clarified that they did not intend to file any rejoinder to the ECI’s counter-affidavit but sought urgent listing to ensure administrative preparedness.

The petitions have been filed by the Kerala government and leaders of political parties including IUML General Secretary PK Kunhalikutty, KPCC President Sunny Joseph, and CPI(M) Secretary MV Govindan Master.

The State’s plea does not challenge the SIR notification itself but seeks a postponement of the process, arguing that running the SIR concurrently with local elections could create administrative difficulties. Notably, on November 21, the Apex Court had issued notice on a plea filed by Kerala seeking a deferment of the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Kerala has argued that the exercise cannot be undertaken simultaneously with the upcoming elections to the State’s Local Self-Government Institutions. Kerala through AoR CK Sasi has submited that the overlap will disrupt the statutory and constitutional mandate to complete local body elections before December 21, 2025, and may push the administration into a near standstill.

In its petition, the State has said it does not challenge the validity of the SIR at this stage but reserves the right to do so separately, if necessary. The immediate grievance is the timing. The Kerala State Election Commission has already scheduled local body polls for December 9 and 11, 2025, covering 1,200 LSGIs and 23,612 wards. The election notification is due on November 14, with nominations closing on November 21 and counting on December 13. Given this schedule, the State says all administrative machinery must be devoted exclusively to the elections.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has also moved the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s decision to conduct a State-wide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Kerala, alleging that the exercise is arbitrary, unconstitutional and timed to cause mass exclusion of voters ahead of the local body elections. The petition has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by the party’s General Secretary P.K Kunhalikutty through AoR R.S. Jena.

Case Title: State of Kerala vs. The Election Commission of India & Ors.

Bench: CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vijay Bishnoi

Hearing Date: January 15, 2026