Election Commission Separates SIR Declaration from Online Form 6

The Election Commission of India has separated the Special Intensive Revision declaration from the online version of Form 6 in states where the SIR exercise is still underway, a senior official confirmed on November 4, 2026.

Form 6 is the statutory application for fresh inclusion in the electoral roll under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Earlier, the Commission had combined the form with an additional declaration asking applicants whether they, a parent, or a grandparent appeared on the roll at the last intensive revision in the early 2000s. Applicants could not submit the form without answering.

Two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had objected in writing. Joshi wrote on May 16 that no such change could be made without a legal amendment. Sandhu called the insertion unauthorised and illegal on August 13. The Commission later told the Supreme Court that an October 21 decision of its electoral roll division split the online process into the statutory Form 6 and a separate SIR declaration.

Under the revised online process, applicants must complete both submissions separately, each requiring its own OTP verification and e-signature. The change applies only in states where SIR continues. In states where the exercise has already ended, the declaration was withdrawn from digital platforms in September.

The Commission has also clarified that previously enrolled voters whose names are missing from draft SIR rolls may submit Form 6 to seek inclusion in the final list. Submitting the form in those circumstances does not by itself amount to a false declaration under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, provided the person is not already enrolled in another constituency.

The clarification followed an October 14 Delhi High Court order in Nilotpal Datta versus Election Commission of India. Chief Electoral Officers have been instructed to publicise the position in local languages. The separation of the declaration does not remove the SIR requirement itself in ongoing states; it only prevents the portal from presenting the declaration as if it were part of the statutory form.

The sequence of decisions has reversed earlier administrative steps that drew internal objections from two of the three commissioners. The statutory Form 6 itself remains unchanged, as only the Central Government can amend the rules that prescribe it.