The State Election Commission (SEC) has moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Kerala High Court directing the commission to conduct the upcoming local body elections on the basis of the electoral rolls used for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
The commission is learnt to have objected against the intervention of the High Court in its cardinal functioning of preparing voters’ list which is key to conducting the local body elections. The commission had insisted on using the electoral roll prepared by it in 2015 with the concurrence of the Central Election Commission since it comprised ward wise details.
The electoral roll of 2019 had only booth wise details, which was felt to be too inadequate for the local body polls. For, each booth comprises more than one ward and sifting the details of voters in each ward on the basis of the list was pointed out as a Herculean task. It demands substantial manpower and would incur an additional expenditure of ₹10 crore and hence the commission insisted on using the 2015 list.
Since the commission was keen on ensuring the maximum enrolment of voters, it had opposed the United Democratic Front’s argument that using the 2015 list would deprive voting right for a large number of persons. It clarified that the decision would not impinge on the fundamental or civic rights of the people.
The Indian Union Muslim League had also filed an obstruction petition on the issue in the Supreme Court on the same issue.