EC Scraps Form 6 Annexure in States Where SIR Is Complete

The Election Commission has removed the additional Form 6 SIR annexure from its online voter enrolment system in states where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been completed. The move restores the statutory Form 6 for new voters in these states and follows a controversy over the legality and scope of the additional declaration.

What changed in Form 6

The additional declaration was introduced specifically for the SIR process. It required new applicants to provide information linking themselves, their parents or grandparents to electoral rolls prepared during an earlier intensive revision.

Applicants could also be asked for details such as the relevant assembly constituency, polling booth and serial number from previous electoral rolls. These requirements were particularly significant for first-time voters and people seeking re-enrolment.

The Election Commission has now removed the annexure from the ECINET app and portal, as well as state Chief Electoral Officer websites, where the SIR exercise has concluded. The additional declaration continues to apply in areas where SIR is still underway.

Why the Form 6 issue became controversial

The additional declaration became a point of dispute after Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly raised objections to changes connected with Form 6.

One concern was whether a form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, could effectively be altered without changing the underlying rules. The Election Commission maintained that the statutory Form 6 itself had not been amended and that the SIR declaration was a separate requirement applicable only during the revision exercise.

Following a September 26 meeting, the poll panel reiterated that the SIR declaration applied specifically to the revision process and that the forms prescribed under the existing rules would be used during the non-SIR period.

What it means for new voters

In states where SIR has concluded, new applicants can now use the regular Form 6 without the additional family-mapping declaration. The Election Commission has also said that people left out during SIR, including young and first-time voters, can apply for inclusion through continuous updating of electoral rolls.

The change therefore separates the SIR-specific requirements from the regular statutory voter-registration process while the revision exercise continues in other states and Union Territories.