SC seeks answers from ECI: SIR under scrutiny amid claims of distress, political pressure

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has intervened in the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, directing the Election Commission of India to file a comprehensive response by December 1. 

The directive from the apex court comes amid a growing chorus of petitions challenging the revision process, with petitioners citing extreme pressure on Booth Level Officers (BLO). The tragic deaths of the BLO contrast with the ECI's claims that the ground situation in the SIR  process is "smooth".

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Defending the ECI in court, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwedi stated that the ground situation differs from the images presented by the petitioners in court.  He informed the bench, comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI)  Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, that in Kerala, 99% of the enumeration forms had been distributed among the voters. He further stated that the commission has completed the maximum process.

Defending the SIR process in Kerala, Diwedi highlighted that the ECI's coordination with the Kerala State Election Commission (KSEC) aims to complete the process in a time-bound manner, adding that the enumeration of the forms will conclude by December 4.

He suggested that the matter could be heard after the given date and dismissed the petitioner's concerns as "political parties and leaders who are creating a scare". “The ECI is coordinating and consulting with the Kerala State Election Commission (KSEC), and the latter has assured that the enumeration will be over by December 4. This matter can be heard after that.”

However, petitioners painted a grim picture before the bench. They alleged that BLOs, tasked with the door-to-door enumeration, were facing huge pressure, citing the recent incidents of reported suicides and hospitalisation of the officers in many states. 

Representing the petitioners from Tamil Nadu, Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran, said that even though 50 per cent of the forms were distributed, BLOs in the state struggle to do door-to-door visits due to wet weather and an impending cyclone.

The Kerala government itself has joined the plea, filing a petition requesting a deferment of the SIR. They argued that the revision process is clashing with the local body election scheduled for December 9 and 11. They added that the deputed officers for SIR would "adversely affect the smooth conduct of the polls."

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing several petitioners, broadened the scope of the challenge, stating that various pleas have questioned not only the SIR procedure but also its fundamental basis and timing. From West Bengal, Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee raised alarming concerns, claiming that 23 BLOs had died by suicide in the state. He urged the court to issue a notice to the state government, emphasising the urgency as the draft roll is slated for publication by December 9.

The Supreme Court, acknowledging the gravity of the allegations, stated it would also seek a response from KSEC to get an official confirmation of the situation on the ground. The bench observed that if an " alarming situation" with a significant number of people being excluded from the rolls could be proven, " we can say you have made a good case for us to intervene. 

In the wake of various pleas, the court has agreed to specific hearing dates. The court scheduled the next hearings on December 2 for the Kerala matter, December 4 for Tamil Nadu and December 9 for West Bengal, allowing the West Bengal government to file its response. The apex court is also separately examining the constitutional validity of the SIR in Bihar.

The petitioners in these cases include prominent political entities such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, functionaries of the Kerala Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Trinamool Congress leader Dola Sen.