New Delhi, 30 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court has declined to extend the deadline for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Keralam, observing that the process of seeking inclusion in the voters’ list and correcting electoral records is a continuous exercise.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing the matter. Senior advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI), informed the court that the revision exercise had been completed. He submitted that individuals affected by omissions or errors could still approach the concerned authorities for necessary corrections through the prescribed procedure.

The court, meanwhile, permitted the petitioners to submit details of voters who had been unable to get their names included in the electoral rolls within the stipulated deadline. It directed the Election Commission to examine the claims and representations of those whose names may have been left out of the voters’ list.

The bench also directed the poll panel to respond within four weeks to allegations of large-scale unauthorised deletions from the electoral rolls.

The court observed that there was no need to formally extend the deadline, as the mechanism for verification and correction of electoral records remained open. It emphasised that the process of adding names to the voters’ list and rectifying discrepancies was not confined to the stipulated timeline.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar