Karnataka govt fears voter deletions, may move Supreme Court over SIR

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government will decide in the next three or four days whether to approach the Supreme Court over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

The Cabinet on Thursday held detailed discussions on various options, including legal ones, on the contentious issue. Committing itself to safeguard the rights of voters, the Cabinet has decided to take a final call by May 24 or 25.

Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said: “Within the next three to four days, we will decide whether to approach the Supreme Court on this matter. Under no circumstance the state will allow any process that deprives the citizens of their right to vote. The government will make every effort to protect the voting rights of citizens.” 

Patil signalled that the government is intending to send a clear message to the Election Commission as he said “serious doubts” have been raised about the transparency of the SIR process in other states. 

The minister said lakhs of citizens in other states have lost their voting rights. “In West Bengal nearly 27 lakh people and in Tamil Nadu thousands of citizens have been deprived of their voting rights because of flaws in the process. The Karnataka government is concernovered that such a grave situation should not arise for its people.”   

As per the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the SIR process in Karnataka will start with training and printing of enumeration forms between June 20 and 29. House to house visits by Booth Level Officers will be conducted between June 30 and July 29. The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 5.

Patil said the measures taken by the EC in the name of SIR have become a subject of intense debate in public forums.

“In Bengal, tribunals were set up to correct such lapses, but they did not function effectively. Since the Election Commission enjoys significant legal immunity, questions have arisen about where citizens can seek justice if errors occur in the process. The state government has therefore taken this matter very seriously,” he informed.  

According to the law minister, 10 to 12 key points related to the SIR regulations were discussed in detail during the Cabinet meeting.

“The deliberations focused on how to legally counter the EC’s immunity and what legal challenges might arise when the final voters’ list is published. The possibility of approaching the Supreme Court against this process was also seriously considered,” he said.   

“The discussion on this issue is still incomplete and will continue in the coming days. After extensive consultations, a final decision will be taken on pursuing legal action in the Supreme Court. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will make the final decision on behalf of the government,” Patil said.  

“In a democracy, every voter must have the freedom to exercise their right. The Election Commission’s processes must be transparent, and no eligible citizen’s name should be omitted from the voters’ list — this is the government’s primary objective,” he said.

In the Cabinet meeting, according to sources, concerns were raised about voters' mapping carried out by the EC. Due to the mapping, there are fears that districts like Raichur and Bengaluru may face more deletions due to high migration.