New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct the 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 (EC) 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 the Kerala government challenging the conduct of SIR of electoral rolls in Kerala simultaneously along with the conduct of elections to the local body which is being held in the state, said that 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. Justice Kant said that it is good that political parties are now coming forward to challenge the exercise instead of private individuals.
The top court is already hearing a batch of pleas challenging the validity of the EC’s decision to conduct pan-India SIR exercise.
On November 11, the top 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. The Kerala government’s plea said that the state, as an entity, is of the view that the SIR, particularly in the manner in which it is being undertaken, is not conducive to the democratic polity of the country. agencies