Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a petition filed by the state government seeking deferment of the SIR and suggested that the government approach the Supreme Court, which is already considering similar pleas from other states.

When the petition came up before Justice V G Arun, he suggested that the Kerala government could move the apex court, which is hearing related matters concerning the Special Intensive Revision

In its petition, the state government said the State Election Commission has announced local body elections for December 9 and 11, coinciding with the SIR process in the state.

The government said that conducting local body elections requires around 1.76 lakh personnel, in addition to 68,000 security personnel.

Simultaneously conducting the SIR would require an additional 25,668 personnel, placing a severe strain on the administration and bringing routine work to a standstill.

Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup, appearing for the state, submitted that the writ petition sought only a deferment of the SIR, not its cancellation.

He argued that even after enumeration, several consequential steps of the SIR would clash with the election process and the declaration of results, both of which require a large number of officials.

Meanwhile, Election Commission of India senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi informed the court that 55 per cent of the enumeration work under the SIR had already been completed and that the entire process in Kerala would be finished by December 4.

He added that the remaining steps involve securing the signatures of electors on pre-filled enumeration forms and urged that any intervention by the Kerala High Court could disrupt the ongoing process.

After hearing both sides, the court advised the state government to approach the Supreme Court, which is handling similar cases from other states, and reserved its order on the petition for Friday.