The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Election Commission’s response to a petition filed by the Kerala government seeking to postpone the revision of voter rolls in the state until after local body elections next month, Bar and Bench reported.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, SVN Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi posted the matter for hearing on November 26.
Local body polls in the state are due to be held in two phases on December 9 and December 11, with votes scheduled to be counted on December 13.
In its petition filed before the Supreme Court earlier this week, the Kerala government said that revising voter rolls and conducting the polls simultaneously will lead to an “administrative impasse” and disrupt the elections.
It added that the elections would require about 1.7 lakh government personnel, along with 68,000 police officials and security staff.
The voter roll revision exercise would demand an additional 25,668 personnel.
The Left Democratic Front government also told the court that, unlike local body polls which must follow a strict schedule, there is no such requirement for the special intensive revision exercise.
In September, the Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against the Election Commission’s decision to conduct the revision, saying that the “hasty” move could harm the rights of citizens.
On November 14, the Kerala High Court declined to defer the exercise and asked the Left Democratic Front government to approach the Supreme Court.
On Sunday, a booth-level officer in the state’s Kannur area died by suicide, allegedly because of work pressure linked to the revision of voter rolls.
The Election Commission began the enumeration phase of the exercise on November 4 in 12 states and Union Territories, including Kerala.
The draft electoral rolls for the 12 states and Union Territories will be published on December 9. Voters can file claims and objections from December 9 to January 8, while hearings and verifications will take place from December 9 to January 31. The final electoral rolls are to be published on February 7.
On Friday, the Supreme Court also issued notices on petitions filed by Indian Union Muslim League General Secretary PK Kunhalikutty, Kerala Congress President Sunny Joseph and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Secretary MV Govindan Master.
These petitions have challenged the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in the state and are not just seeking deferment, Bar and Bench reported.
On November 11, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to respond within two weeks to petitions filed against the exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
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