Election Commission Removes Additional Declaration from Voter Enrollment Form
Changes to Voter Enrollment Process
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New Delhi, Sep 30: The Election Commission has decided to eliminate the extra SIR-related declaration from the online voter enrollment Form 6 in states where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been finalized. This decision comes shortly after the full Commission determined that this requirement would only be applicable during the SIR process.
The declaration, which necessitates new applicants to provide information linking themselves or their ancestors to previous electoral rolls created during an earlier intensive revision, will still be accessible on the ECINET portal in regions where the SIR is currently in progress.
In areas where the SIR has been completed, the additional declaration has been removed from both the ECINET application and portal, as well as from the Chief Electoral Officer portals. This change allows applicants to complete only the standard Form 6 as outlined in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
This decision follows a meeting held on September 26, which included Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Post-meeting, the Commission clarified that the declaration associated with Form 6 was specifically intended for the SIR period, stating that during non-SIR times, the forms as per the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be utilized.
The matter had sparked controversy after it was revealed that Sandhu and Joshi had expressed concerns regarding modifications to Form 6.
Form 6 is the official document that eligible citizens must use to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll. Joshi raised objections to the changes, arguing that a form established under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, could not be altered without amending the rules. Sandhu supported this viewpoint.
Following the inclusion of the SIR-related declaration in the online Form 6 process on ECINET, Sandhu reiterated his objections, labeling the modification as "unauthorized/illegal" and calling for its removal.
Nevertheless, the Election Commission has consistently asserted that Form 6 itself was not altered and that the declaration was merely an additional requirement specific to the SIR. They also noted that this declaration had been validated by the Supreme Court in its ruling regarding the Bihar SIR.
The decisions made on September 26 followed reports from a news outlet indicating that Sandhu and Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past ten months to decisions and directives regarding the SIR, claiming these were made without their consent or input.
In its statement from September 26, the Commission emphasized that all orders related to the SIR had received unanimous approval from all three election commissioners.