The Supreme Court on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) remonstrated with the Election Commission of India for giving “mechanical and cyclostyled” answers every time a human problem is presented in court by anxious voters about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant voiced the top court’s exasperation at repeatedly being witness to Election Commission (EC) trying to parry the practical difficulties raised in court with figures and statistics on the number of enumeration forms that have been submitted and digitised.
T.N. migrant workers’ woes
The latest instance came while the court was hearing applications seeking an extension of time to submit enumeration forms in Tamil Nadu. The applicants said that people living in the hilly regions of the States were migrant workers, and many leave for their annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala and will only return by Pongal in mid-January. The enumeration phase, however, is set to end on December 11 in Tamil Nadu.
The EC response was a blank statement: “99.27% enumeration forms were received and digitised in Tamil Nadu.”
“For you, it is 90% and 97% every time a practical difficulty is raised in this court. Your answers are always mechanical and cyclostyled,” the Chief Justice berated the EC.
Another applicant submitted that 56 lakh people were yet to submit their enumeration forms in the State.
‘Extension needed’
The hearing also saw the Kerala government, represented by advocate C.K. Sasi, seek a further extension of two weeks for electors in the State to submit their enumeration forms. He said that over 20 lakh voters were yet to submit their forms. The EC had earlier extended the deadline in Kerala from December 11 to December 18.
“There are students who are studying outside the State. On a personal front, there are also lawyers like me. We are waiting for the Christmas vacations to go back and submit our forms,” senior advocate P.V. Surendranath said, explained the practical difficulties.
Here too, the EC responded by stating that 97.42% enumeration forms have been digitised in Kerala.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the EC, said the State’s submission was “speculative”, claiming that the poll body had its “fingers on the pulse” in Kerala. “We are monitoring,” Mr. Dwivedi submitted. The court posted the case on December 18 to assess the situation to pass appropriate orders, if necessary.
Driving BLOs to exhaustion
Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned whether the EC was “too much of a driving force”, leaving booth-level officers (BLOs) exhausted.
The EC dismissed the notion as a “political narrative floating around”. It said there were only 1,200 voters in every polling booth, and the BLO for the booth had 37 days to submit and collect enumeration forms from them. “A BLO can cover them all in 37 days at the pace of 35 voters a day… There are small hamlets in some places. A BLO could easily visit six or seven houses and complete the daily quota,” Mr. Dwivedi rationalised.
But Justice Bagchi said the explanation made it seem as though a BLO’s job was merely “desk work”.
“It is sheer leg work. They have to leg it house after house, verify the details, travel back and upload the enumeration forms. There is pressure on the BLOs… We are not on ‘narratives’, as you put it… We had taken note of strain on BLOs in our order on December 4,” Justice Bagchi addressed the EC counsel.
‘Hostile parties causing stress’
On December 4, the top court had put the onus on the States to substitute BLOs who fall sick on the job or depute additional personnel for SIR enumeration work to reduce stress. Tuesday’s hearing saw the court clarify that the December 4 order would be applicable on a pan-India basis.
On Tuesday, Mr. Dwivedi contended that it was not the EC, but ruling political parties hostile to the SIR in States like West Bengal and Kerala, who are interfering with the BLOs’ work, “bossing them around”.
“In Kerala, the Congress party has said the CPI(M) is putting pressure on the BLOs… Stress is coming more from the political parties,” Mr. Dwivedi submitted for the EC.
‘EC must protect BLOs’
The court was hearing an application that BLOs in West Bengal were subjected to violence in a deliberate bid by political parties to slow the SIR process.
“BLOs are now performing your statutory duties. For the time being, they are your employees. BLOs have to be protected by you and the State concerned,” Chief Justice Kant addressed the EC.
Mr. Dwivedi said States have to cooperate with the EC to ensure there was no violence. “If the State fails, the EC could take the local police under deputation. If the local police act foul, the poll body is empowered to rope in Central forces,” he submitted.
The court said it was not enough for the EC to say it had powers to protect the BLOs. “Why have you not exercised this power? This [violence perpetrated against BLOs] is a very serious issue. The BLOs are working for you,” the Chief Justice Kant admonished.
Mr. Dwivedi told the court that the EC cannot “jump to” any conclusion. “We will do the necessary. We will take strong action to protect the BLOs,” he promised.
Published – December 09, 2025 09:50 pm IST