Archive · 23 Sep 2026
Election Commissioners Challenge Form 6 Changes Linked to SIR
Form 6 is the application people use to become new voters.
A new question about an old voter list was added to the online form.
It asked whether the applicant or a parent or grandparent appeared on that list.
The question was not marked mandatory, but people could not submit the form without answering it.
Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said the form was part of the law and could not be changed this way.
They said the Government would need to approve changes to the relevant rules.
Sandhu later called the online change unauthorised and illegal.
Critics said the question could trouble eligible young voters whose families were absent from the old list.
Officials disputed the broader report of disagreements and said the Election Commission of India was united on SIR decisions.
Form 6 was modified on the Election Commission of India’s ECINet portal to include a declaration connected to the last Special Intensive Revision.
Applicants were asked whether their own, a parent’s or grandparent’s name appeared on an electoral roll from the previous SIR, or whether none did.
Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said the statutory form could not be changed without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Sandhu later described the portal changes as “unauthorised” and “illegal,” and called for their immediate removal.
A separate report alleged at least 14 objections by the two commissioners over 10 months, while officials said the Election Commission of India was unanimous on SIR decisions.
- Who
- Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu raised objections; Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was copied on Sandhu’s later note.
- What
- A declaration linked to the last Special Intensive Revision was added to the online Form 6, prompting objections that the statutory form had been changed without the required rule amendment.
- When
- Joshi recorded his objection on May 16, Sandhu concurred on May 19, the online change appeared in July, and Sandhu renewed his objection on August 13.
- Where
- The change appeared on the Election Commission of India’s ECINet portal.
- Why
- The commissioners said Form 6 could not be altered without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960; critics also warned the declaration could burden otherwise eligible first-time voters.
Commissioners’ objections and report
Officials’ response
Legality of the Form 6 change
Commissioners’ objections and report
Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said Form 6 is statutory and could not be changed through SIR instructions without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Officials’ response
Officials rejected the broader account of internal disagreement and said the Election Commission of India was unanimous in its decisions related to the SIR.
Extent of internal disagreement
Commissioners’ objections and report
The Indian Express reported that the two commissioners had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months, including objections concerning voter registration, name deletions and electoral-roll data.
Officials’ response
Officials said Joshi and Sandhu had raised issues in several states during voter-roll cleanup but denied that the poll body’s SIR decisions lacked unanimity.
Impact on new voters
Commissioners’ objections and report
Sandhu said the change should be removed so otherwise eligible young and first-time voters could register without harassment; critics said the question could be difficult for families absent from the previous SIR roll.
Officials’ response
The articles do not report a specific official response addressing the potential difficulty for first-time applicants whose families were absent from the earlier roll.
- Affected form
- Form 6, used by eligible citizens to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll as new voters.
- Added declaration
- Applicants had to identify whether their own, a parent’s or grandparent’s name appeared in the electoral roll from the last SIR, or whether none appeared.
- Submission requirement
- The declaration was reportedly not marked mandatory, but applicants could not submit the online form without answering it.
- Legal framework
- Form 6 is prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
- Commissioners’ position
- Vivek Joshi said Form 6 could not be altered without amending the rules, and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu agreed.
- Later action
- On August 13, Sandhu called the portal changes “unauthorised” and “illegal” and sought their immediate removal.
- Broader dispute
- A report alleged at least 14 objections by Joshi and Sandhu over 10 months, while officials said the Election Commission of India was unanimous on SIR decisions.
