The Kerala High Court on Thursday advised the Vijayan government to approach the Supreme Court.
It asked the government to seek deferment of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India in the state.
Justice VG Arun, who heard the state’s plea, noted that similar petitions from Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal were already pending before the Supreme Court.
He said it would be appropriate for Kerala to move the apex court as well.
Appearing for the state, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup clarified that the government was not questioning the legality of the SIR.
He said the plea only sought the postponement of the process. “The petition is limited to seeking deferment of the SIR in Kerala,” Kurup told the court.
The Bench reserved its verdict, which will be announced on Friday.
In its petition, the state government cited administrative and logistical constraints due to the upcoming two-phase local body elections on December 9 and 11.
The government said the polls would require deploying 1.76 lakh government employees and 68,000 security personnel.
It added that the SIR would need an additional 25,668 staff.
“This puts severe strain on the state administration and halts routine work,” the plea stated.
The government argued that the Constitution mandates completion of local elections before December 21.
It added that there is no such urgency for the SIR since Assembly polls are due only by May 2026.
Representing the ECI, Senior Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi defended the revision. He said the process was essential ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.
He added that both the state and central election commissions were coordinating efficiently and dismissed Kerala’s concerns as “wholly unfounded.”
The legal move follows weeks of political opposition to the revision in Kerala.
In September, the Kerala Assembly passed a unanimous resolution opposing the SIR.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan warned it could turn into a ‘backdoor attempt’ to introduce an NRC-style exercise.
Opposition Leader VD Satheesan called the process ‘hurried and ill-conceived,’ saying it could disenfranchise genuine voters.
Earlier this month, an all-party meeting, except the BJP, urged the government to seek judicial intervention, leading to Thursday’s High Court hearing.
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