Election Commission Removes Form 6 Change Objected to by Two Commissioners

Four days after announcing that the statutory voter enrolment forms would be used during non-SIR periods.

The Election Commission on Wednesday removed the additional Special Intensive Revision (SIR) declaration from the online Form 6 on its ECINET portal in states where the revision exercise has been completed.

The move follows reported objections from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the addition of the SIR-related section to Form 6 without a formal amendment to the statutory form. The Indian Express had earlier reported that the two commissioners had described the change as unauthorised.

On September 26, the EC had announced that during non-SIR periods, the forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used. The additional declaration has now been removed from ECINET in states where the final SIR electoral rolls have been published, while it remains visible in states where the revision is still underway.

The declaration had been inserted between Sections J and K of the online Form 6. It asked applicants whether their own name, or that of a parent or grandparent, appeared in the electoral roll prepared during the previous SIR. Applicants were also required to provide the relevant booth and serial number where applicable.

The issue arose because the statutory Form 6 itself had not been formally amended. The downloadable version of the form on the EC website did not contain the additional declaration, even though it appeared in the online version available through ECINET.

The Election Commission had previously maintained that Form 6 had not been changed and that the additional requirement was a separate declaration, known as Annexure D, introduced alongside the existing form under SIR instructions.

The latest change means applicants in states where the SIR process has concluded will now see the standard Form 6 on ECINET, while the additional SIR-related requirement continues in states where the exercise remains in progress.