The Election Commission (EC) has withdrawn the additional Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-related declaration from the online voter enrolment Form 6 in states where the revision exercise has been completed, PTI reported.
The declaration has been removed from the ECINET app and portal as well as the respective Chief Electoral Officer portals. Applicants seeking enrolment in these states will now have to fill only the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
However, the additional declaration remains available on ECINET in states and Union Territories where SIR is still underway.
What changes for new voter applicants?
Form 6 is used by eligible citizens to apply for inclusion in electoral rolls. According to PTI, the additional declaration requires applicants to provide details linking themselves, their parents or grandparents to electoral rolls prepared during an earlier intensive revision.
The Indian Express reported that applicants were asked whether they or their parents or grandparents appeared in the previous SIR and to provide booth and serial numbers where applicable. The declaration had been inserted between Sections J and K of the online Form 6.
Move follows September 26 EC meeting
The withdrawal follows a September 26 meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
After the meeting, the EC said the declaration was meant for SIR. In its official statement, the Commission said: “For non-SIR period, the Forms applicable as per Rules (the Registration of Electors Rules 1960) will be used,” as quoted by PIB. The EC also said the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Why did two Election Commissioners object?
The issue had come into focus after The Indian Express reported objections raised by Sandhu and Joshi.
Joshi’s position was that a statutory form prescribed under the 1960 Rules could not be modified without amending those rules, and Sandhu agreed with him.
The Indian Express reported that Sandhu subsequently described the changes on the portal as “unauthorised/ illegal” and wrote that they “must be removed immediately” so eligible young and first-time voters could register without harassment.
The EC, however, has maintained that Form 6 itself was not amended and that the declaration was an additional SIR-specific requirement.
ECINET to undergo review
The September 26 meeting also resulted in a decision to review ECINET. According to the official EC statement published by PIB, a committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent IIT/IIIT expert will check whether ECINET complies with applicable Acts and Rules.
The EC has separately maintained that SIR-related orders were issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission, including the June 24, 2025 order covering states and Union Territories.