SC tells EC to respond within 2 weeks to petitions against SIR in TN, Bengal
Also asks HCs to keep in abeyance any proceedings on petitions challenging SIR, while permitting listing of intervention application filed by AIADMK supporting SIR
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 11) issued a notice to the Election Commission of India (EC) on the petitions challenging the poll body's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the EC to respond to the fresh petitions within two weeks. It also asked the Madras and Calcutta High Courts to keep in abeyance any proceedings on petitions challenging the SIR of the electoral rolls in the two states, while permitting the listing of an intervention application filed by the AIADMK supporting the exercise in Tamil Nadu.
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"Since this Court is seized of the matter pertaining to legality of SIR of electoral rolls in various states including Bihar, WB, TN, Pondicherry, etc., we request jurisdictional HCs to keep in abeyance/defer the writ proceedings if any filed in those HCs touching the validity of SIR in their states," the bench observed in the order.
The petitions were filed by the DMK, CPI(M), West Bengal Congress and TMC, who moved the SC against the SIR rollout in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
SIR in 12 states
On October 27, the EC announced the conduct of the second phase of the SIR exercise in 12 states and Union Territories scheduled between November this year and February next year.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the states and Union Territories where SIR was scheduled.
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It is to be noted that Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal are scheduled to go to the polls in 2026. For Assam, whose assembly is also due next year, the EC said the revision of the electoral rolls would be announced separately.
The second phase of the SIR exercise began on November 4 and will continue until December 4. The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7.