Supreme Court Defers Bengaluru Municipal Elections Owing To Ongoing Karnataka SIR

The Supreme Court on Friday extended the deadline for completing elections to the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) until December 31, 2026.

A CJI Surya Kant led bench was informed on Friday by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the Karnataka state government that a large number of officials are currently engaged in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and that conducting civic polls alongside the exercise would be difficult.

Taking note of the submission, the bench also comprising Justices Juymalya Bagchi and V Mohana has granted the state four more months to complete the election process.

“SIR is underway and the roll will be finalised only in November. Elections cannot take place by the August 31 deadline, as mandated by this court,” Sibal told the bench. The counsel appearing for the State Election Commission also supported the state’s request for extension. 

The Greater Bengaluru Authority, the state government and the State Election Commission sought more time to hold the local body polls in the city corporations citing acute logistical and administrative challenges triggered by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). GBS told court the administrative machinery and field staff engaged in the intensive house-to-house enumeration exercise cannot simultaneously handle the massive deployment required for civic polls.

Proceeding with elections on out-of-sync, unrevised rolls prior to the conclusion of the SIR would lead to dangerous anomalies where voters appear in one roll but not the other, which may degrade the sanctity of a free and fair election, top court was told.

In May, the Supreme Court had extended the deadline from June 30 to August 31 for the municipal polls while making it “amply clear” that no further extension would be granted. The civic elections have remained pending since the term of the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council ended in September 2020. 

Soon after the supreme court's order, Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar said the state would use the extended timeline not only to hold elections to the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s five city corporations but also to complete polls to all pending local bodies before the end of the year. Shivakumar added: “We will complete not only this election, all the Zilla Panchayat, Taluk Panchayat, Gram Panchayat and all the municipal corporations. I will see that by this December all the elections will be completed. My duty is to see that all the young new people are given an opportunity.”

Notably Bengaluru has not had an elected municipal council for nearly six years. Since the BBMP council’s term ended in September 2020, the city’s civic administration has remained under government-appointed officials.

Case Title: THE STATE OF KARNATAKA Versus M. SHIVARAJU AND ORS.,

Bench: CJI Kant, Justice Bagchi and Justice Mohana

Hearing Date: July 17, 2026