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News Topical, Digital Desk : The Supreme Court on Wednesday convened a joint hearing on all petitions challenging the ongoing SIR in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry, and Bihar. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant strictly directed the Election Commission to file its response by December 1. The Election Commission must file its response in all state SIR cases by December 1, 2025. The next hearing in the Kerala case will be on December 2. All other cases will be heard on December 9. A response has also been sought by December 1 in the case of the death of a BLO in West Bengal.
'23 BLOs died during SIR'
The Chief Justice stated that the Tamil Nadu SIR case will be heard on Monday. The Kerala petition seeks the postponement of the SIR due to local body elections. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi stated that this petition has already been filed in the Madras High Court. The court has requested a separate status report for Kerala. Meanwhile, the West Bengal petitioner's lawyer claimed that 23 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have died during the SIR. The court has also sought a response from the West Bengal State Election Office by December 1st on this serious allegation.
Kapil Sibal also presented his side
The Bihar case has also been included in these petitions, which is scheduled to be heard after 2 pm. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, arguing, said that BLOs are only allowed to upload 50 forms at a time, which is slowing down the process. Meanwhile, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, told the court that there is complete coordination with the State Election Commission and there are no problems. He stated that forms have been distributed to 99% of voters. Dwivedi said that more than 50% of the forms have been digitized.
Big statement by EC lawyer
The Election Commission's lawyer also argued that political parties were deliberately spreading fear and panic. He said, "These are your (Election Commission's) own instructions. You imposed the limit of 50 forms. This is not an issue for any political party or leader." After hearing all parties, the court made it clear that there should be no chaos in the process and that a timely response is required. The next two hearings (December 2 and December 9) may determine whether the SIR will continue in various states or whether it will be modified.
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