Election Commission Separates SIR Declaration from Online Form 6 in States Under Revision

Change to Online Voter Registration Process

The Election Commission of India has separated Form 6, the statutory form for fresh voter registration, from an accompanying declaration related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The change applies to the online version on the ECINet portal in states where the SIR exercise remains underway. Applicants must now submit the two documents separately, each requiring its own OTP verification and e-signature.

Earlier in September, the Commission had already withdrawn the declaration from digital platforms in states where the SIR had been completed. The latest step aligns the online process with the physical forms, in which the declaration has remained separate.

Background of the Declaration

Since the Bihar SIR, the Commission had added a declaration seeking details on whether the applicant, a parent, or a grandparent appeared in the electoral rolls from the previous intensive revision in the early 2000s. The declaration offered three choices. Online, it had been displayed between sections of Form 6 so that applicants could complete both with a single OTP and e-sign. Two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had recorded objections. Joshi wrote on May 16 that the form could not be altered without a legal amendment. Sandhu later described the inclusion as unauthorised or illegal.

In a counter-affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Commission stated that Form 6 itself had not been amended. Only the central government can amend the form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The declaration was a separate document introduced under the SIR orders. An October 21 decision of the electoral roll division directed that online applications be divided into two parts: the statutory Form 6 and the SIR declaration.

Practical Effect for Applicants

In states where SIR is complete, new voters now submit only Form 6. In states where it continues, they must complete both steps. The Commission has also clarified that voters whose names are missing from draft SIR rolls may submit Form 6 to seek inclusion, even if they were enrolled earlier. Filing Form 6 alone does not constitute a false declaration under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, provided the person is not already enrolled in another constituency and the statements are accurate.

The separation addresses the concern that presenting the declaration as part of Form 6 could be read as an amendment to the statutory form. It does not remove the declaration from the process in ongoing SIR states.

Ongoing Context

The Special Intensive Revision has generated petitions in the Supreme Court and public debate over the handling of electoral rolls. The Commission has maintained that the declaration helps establish linkage to earlier rolls without altering the statutory form. The technical split implements the October 21 internal decision and the position taken in the court affidavit. Applicants in affected states will encounter an additional verification step online that was previously combined for convenience.