India


ECI says SIR had unanimous approval, cites Supreme Court backing amid form 6 Row

New Delhi, Oct 5 (UNI) The Election Commission of India on Monday sought to rebut what it described as a “misleading” claim over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, asserting that the exercise was approved unanimously by the full Commission and that the Supreme Court had upheld the framework governing it.
In a “Fact Check” posted on social media platform X, the poll panel said its June 24, 2025 order directing the conduct of SIR across all States and union Territories, beginning with Bihar, was issued “with the unanimous approval of the Commission”.
The ECI further said the order had subsequently been upheld by the Supreme Court in its judgment of May 27, 2026.
The Commission also referred to Press Note No. 120 issued on September 26, 2026, particularly paragraph 1(iii), in support of its position on the declaration attached to Form 6 during the SIR exercise. “The declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR has been upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court,” the ECI said, quoting its earlier press note.
The clarification comes against the backdrop of an intensifying political and legal controversy over the conduct of SIR and the procedural requirements associated with Form 6, which is used for enrolment of new voters. Opposition parties have questioned the legal basis and manner in which certain changes or additional requirements were introduced, while the Commission has maintained that its decisions were taken collectively and in accordance with the law.
In its September 26 statement, the ECI had maintained that there was no change to the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. It said the requirement introduced during SIR was an additional declaration and that the statutory forms prescribed under the 1960 Rules would continue to be used during periods when SIR was not in operation.
The Supreme Court's May 27 judgment examined legal challenges relating to the Bihar SIR and the process of electoral-roll revision. The judgment recorded that the final electoral roll published in Bihar on September 30, 2025 contained 7.42 crore electors, compared with 7.89 crore electors on June 24, 2025, when the SIR exercise was ordered.
The ECI's latest intervention assumes significance as the controversy over Form 6 has continued despite its September clarification. The Commission has repeatedly maintained that the SIR decision was taken with the approval of all three Election Commissioners, even as Opposition leaders have questioned the validity of specific procedural changes and alleged that they were introduced without adequate statutory authority.
The issue also reached the Supreme Court on Monday, when the court declined to grant an interim order seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar while issuing notice on a petition challenging decisions connected with the SIR exercise.
The latest ECI fact check thus seeks to draw a distinction between the overarching decision to conduct SIR—which the Commission says received unanimous approval and was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court—and the continuing dispute over the precise implementation of the additional Form 6 declaration. The poll panel has reiterated that the SIR-related declaration has judicial backing, while the statutory forms prescribed under the 1960 Rules remain applicable outside the SIR process. UNI SKA AAB
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