NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has removed the additional Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-related declaration from the online Form 6 in states and Union territories where the electoral roll revision exercise has been completed.
The additional section has been removed from the ECINET app and portal as well as the respective Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) portals. New applicants in these states will now have to use the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, for enrolment in the electoral rolls.
The move comes days after the poll panel said on September 26 that forms prescribed under the 1960 rules would be used during the non-SIR period. The additional declaration will, however, continue to appear in states and UTs where the SIR exercise is still underway.
What was the additional declaration?
The online version of Form 6 on ECINET was modified earlier this year to include an additional declaration linked to the previous SIR electoral roll. Applicants were asked whether their names, or those of their parents or grandparents, appeared in the earlier roll. They could also provide details such as the electoral roll part number and serial number.
The additional section was not included in the downloadable statutory Form 6, but appeared while submitting the application online through ECINET. Reports said applicants could not proceed without responding to the section, even though it was not specifically marked as mandatory.
The change had also triggered questions within the Election Commission. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were reported to have raised objections to modifying the statutory Form 6 without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Sandhu had reportedly sought removal of the additional declaration.
The Commission, however, maintained that the additional declaration was specifically linked to the SIR exercise and that the statutory Form 6 had not been altered for the regular enrolment process. It also cited the Supreme Court’s May 27, 2026 judgment on the Bihar SIR while explaining its position.
Why Form 6 matters
Form 6 is the statutory application used by eligible citizens seeking inclusion in the electoral roll as new voters. The removal of the additional declaration means that, once SIR is completed in a state, the regular statutory procedure will again apply to new voter enrolment.
The development also brings the online process in line with the Election Commission’s September 26 clarification on the use of statutory forms during the non-SIR period.
