SIR 2.0 | Supreme Court notice to EC on fresh pleas challenging SIR exercise in Kerala, other states

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and other states.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, SVN Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Election Commission on all the fresh petitions filed by different political leaders, challenging SIR exercises in different states on different grounds.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for a petitioner challenging SIR exercise in Kerala, submitted that local body elections are also scheduled to be held in the state and, therefore, there is some urgency involved in the matter.

The bench directed the pleas challenging SIR exercise in Kerala will be listed on November 26 and rest of the petitions challenging electoral roll revision exercise in other states will be taken up for hearing in the first or second week of December.

The court also issued notice on the petitions filed by Indian Union Muslim League general secretary PK Kunhalikutty and CPI(M) secretary M V Govindan Master, and others in connection with the SIR in Kerala. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar appeared for the CPI(M) secretary and advocate Haris Beeran for IUML.

The court was informed that a plea has been also filed by an MP of Indian National Congress from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, and that the MP has challenged the SIR in Uttar Pradesh. “Now, political parties have started coming. Thank God!," the bench said, in a lighter vein. The bench issued notice on plea by Congress MP, saying that it will hear matters other than Kerala in December.

The top court is already seized with batch of pleas challenging the validity of the Election Commission's decision to conduct pan-India SIR exercise.

On November 11, the court sought separate responses of the poll panel on pleas filed by DMK, CPI(M), West Bengal Congress and Trinamool Congress leaders challenging the SIR of the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively.