No action against previously enrolled voters using Form 6 during SIR, says ECI

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has clarified that voters left out of draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision can apply afresh through Form 6 without fearing prosecution, even if they were registered earlier.

In a letter issued on November 3 to chief electoral officers across states and Union Territories, the poll panel said submitting Form 6 in such cases would not amount to a false declaration or attract action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The clarification seeks to remove hesitation among previously enrolled voters whose names did not appear in the draft rolls. Many had been reluctant to apply because Form 6 carries a declaration that the applicant is seeking inclusion in the electoral roll for the first time.

“It is clarified that an elector whose name does not appear in the draft electoral roll may submit Form 6 to seek inclusion in the final electoral roll, in accordance with the prescribed procedure,” the Commission said in the letter.

The EC added that voters missing from the draft roll must seek inclusion afresh, regardless of whether they had been enrolled previously. It directed electoral registration officers not to initiate action under Section 31 merely because an applicant had featured in an earlier electoral roll and later filed Form 6 during or after the SIR process.

The protection, however, is conditional. The applicant must not already be enrolled in another parliamentary or assembly constituency, and the declaration must otherwise comply with the law.

The move comes amid criticism of the SIR exercise and concerns that Form 6 is being used to reinstate voters omitted from draft rolls. The Congress dismissed the clarification as “word games”, alleging that it failed to address what it called the fundamental flaws of the revision process and claiming that the exercise was designed to exclude voters.

The issue has also caused unease within the Election Commission. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had earlier questioned the addition of an SIR-related declaration to the online Form 6, arguing that changes to a statutory form required a formal amendment and could not be introduced unilaterally.

The additional declaration seeks details on whether an applicant, or their parents or grandparents, were included in electoral rolls during the previous intensive revision.

In its latest communication, the EC cited a Delhi High Court order dated October 14 in the case of Nilotpal Datta and another versus the Election Commission of India. Petitioners who were not first-time voters had argued that filing Form 6 would force them to make a false declaration. The court held that their apprehension was misplaced and allowed them to submit the form for consideration under the law.

The Commission said the declaration in Form 6 has been in force since August 1, 2022, and that applying for inclusion after a name goes missing from the draft roll serves the purpose of fresh enrolment under the SIR process.

It has asked chief electoral officers to publicise the clarification widely, including in local languages and through available media platforms. The letter was signed by Sandeep Kumar, Under Secretary to the Election Commission.