Supreme Court to Hear Bengaluru Civic Polls Delay Plea Citing Voter Roll Revision

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to urgently list an application filed by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) seeking an extension of the deadline for civic elections in Bengaluru's five city corporations. The plea, which seeks to move the elections from August 31 to December 31, cites severe logistical challenges due to an ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant heard senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who argued that preparing for elections while the massive SIR exercise is underway would be 'seemingly impossible'. The court is expected to hear the case in detail on July 17.

The GBA's application comes after the court had previously set a firm deadline of August 31 for the elections, following what it called 'delaying tactics' by the local body. In a May 20 hearing, the court had stated this would be the 'last chance' and barred further extensions.

In its July 9 application, the GBA explained that the SIR has engaged nearly 9,000 booth level officers, along with supervisors, election registration officers, and other personnel from municipal corporations and the GBA. The revision involves house-to-house enumeration, with multiple visits for vacant households.

Bengaluru has over 1.03 crore voters, about one-sixth of the state's total electorate, spread across approximately 40 lakh residences. The draft electoral roll is set to be published on August 5, with claims for inclusions or exclusions to be decided by September 25. The final roll is expected on October 7.

The GBA stated that the SIR is an extremely manpower-intensive exercise and that conducting elections by August 31 would pose a unique administrative challenge, particularly due to frequent intra-city migration and residence changes among voters.