The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission (EC) to make public the names of voters excluded from Kerala’s draft electoral rolls prepared after the special intensive revision (SIR) process. The move aims to ensure that affected voters get a fair opportunity to raise objections against the deletion of their names.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant also asked the poll panel to consider extending the deadline for filing objections, preferably by two weeks, in view of the difficulties faced by voters. The Election Commission informed the court that the request for an extension would be examined.
The court was hearing multiple petitions challenging the SIR process in Kerala. The petitioners include the state government and senior political leaders from various parties, who argued that the revision exercise risks disenfranchising a large number of voters due to technical errors and inadequate grievance redressal mechanisms.
According to the petitioners, nearly 24 lakh names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls following the revision. They contended that although voters are expected to file objections against deletions, the list of excluded individuals has not been made available, effectively preventing voters from knowing whether their names have been removed.
It was also pointed out that several voters were wrongly marked as deceased or shown as having migrated out of the state. The lack of transparency, the petitioners argued, has caused serious hardship, especially for people in rural areas.
Taking note of these concerns, the court directed that the names of deleted voters be displayed at gram panchayat offices and other public offices in villages. It also ordered the Election Commission to upload the lists on its official website to ensure wider public access.
The bench observed that, given the difficulties faced by the public, the Election Commission should seriously consider extending the deadline for filing objections.
