Karnataka High Court adjourns till July 28 further hearing on plea seeking extension of SIR deadline in State

The High Court of Karnataka. | Photo Credit: File photo The High Court of Karnataka adjourned till July 28 the further hearing of a PIL seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extend each phase of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka from one month to three months.The petition has been filed by writer Devanura Mahadeva, historian Ramachandra Guha, Major General (Retd.) S.G. Vombatkere, and former Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka State Akkamahadevi Women’s University Sabiha Bhoomigowda.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha briefly heard the arguments of Senior Advocate Vikram Huilgol, appearing for the petitioners. However, the Bench adjourned the further hearing after the petitioners’ counsel, in response to a query posed by the Bench on the Supreme Court’s guidelines on the SIR, sought time till Tuesday to produce the guidelines.BLOs facing pressureContending that Booth Level Officers (BLOs), mainly government school teachers and Anganwadi workers, were facing severe pressure, with many being served show-cause notices for missing enumeration targets, the petitioners argued that this compromised the careful, individualised assistance mandated under the ECI’s instructions. Citing this, and a few deaths allegedly linked to SIR duty, they sought an extension of the deadline for completion of the SIR.The petitioners have also sought a direction to establish functional voter facilitation centres at every polling booth, while contending that very few such centres are operational, despite the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, claiming that more than 30,000 such centres are functional.Define ‘others’The petition, filed through advocate Shriya Chakravarthy, has also sought a direction to the ECI to clarify the definition of “others” under the “absentee, shifted, dead, duplicate and others” (ASDDO) classification and to ensure that no elector’s name is excluded from the draft electoral roll under the “others” category without disclosure and recording of specific reasons, which must be communicated to the elector.Further, the petitioners have sought a direction to the ECI to publish a complete set of criteria that could result in a voter being flagged for a “logical discrepancy”, such as minor spelling or age mismatches. They have urged that this classification should not be applied without prior notice to the elector and a reasonable opportunity to respond before the name is excluded from the draft electoral roll.Timeline concernsThe petition has also pointed out that the Karnataka government itself, through a 12-point representation dated June 15, 2026, raised concerns with the ECI regarding an extension of the timeline, disclosure of deletion criteria, and due process safeguards. However, the petitioners stated that no response has been received from the ECI.In addition, the petitioners, citing the Chief Minister’s public statements linking continued access to welfare schemes to retention on the electoral rolls, have sought a direction to the government not to withdraw any social welfare benefits from individuals whose names do not figure in the final electoral rolls after completion of the SIR. Published - July 27, 2026 03:49 pm IST