Better to approach SC over SIR, HC tells Kerala

THE Kerala High Court on Thursday suggested it would be appropriate for the state government to approach the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (EC) decision to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

Hearing the state’s petition to defer the SIR until after the local body elections, Justice V G Arun made the suggestion, saying several other states had also filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) against the exercise.

At the hearing, Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup said the state had not questioned the SIR’s validity as of now, but was seeking its deferment until the local body elections were over. “The state is of the view that the SIR...is not conducive to the democratic polity of the country,” he said, and sought to reserve the state’s right to challenge the SIR in appropriate proceedings, if necessary.