1 hr ago
Supreme Court Says It Did Not Approve Form 6 Changes
Form 6 is used by people who want to register as new voters.
The Election Commission’s online version added a question about an applicant’s parents and an earlier voter-roll review.
The official statutory form itself was not changed.
The Supreme Court was hearing petitions against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court had not approved the changes.
He said the court would want to know who made them after it receives a report from the Election Commission.
A political group’s leader described the court’s statement as a major setback for Kumar.
That leader also repeated claims that the change had caused problems for young applicants, but those claims were not independently confirmed in the report.
Chief Justice Surya Kant said the Supreme Court had not approved modifications to Form 6.
The court was hearing petitions filed against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Election Commission’s online Form 6 added a section asking about applicants’ parents and the last Special Intensive Revision.
The statutory Form 6 itself has not been amended, according to the report.
The court said it would examine who made the changes after receiving a report from the Election Commission.
- Who
- Chief Justice Surya Kant, the Supreme Court bench, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- What
- The court said it had not approved modifications to the online version of Form 6 and said it would examine who made them.
- Where
- At a Supreme Court hearing in India.
- When
- Monday.
- Why
- The bench was hearing petitions against Gyanesh Kumar, including arguments that changes to the new-voter registration form were unlawful.
Critics of the Form Change
Court’s Stated Position
Whether the change was authorized
Critics of the Form Change
CJP’s Saurav Das called the change illegal and said the form could be changed only after changes to law and election rules.
Court’s Stated Position
Chief Justice Surya Kant said the Supreme Court had not approved the modifications and said the court would examine who made them.
Effect on new voters
Critics of the Form Change
Das said the change was leading to harassment of new voters, especially Gen Z applicants, and referred to objections from the other two Election Commissioners.
Court’s Stated Position
The report of the hearing does not provide a response from the Election Commission or the other commissioners to those claims.
Key facts
- Form
- Form 6, used for registration of new voters.
- Court statement
- Chief Justice Surya Kant said the Supreme Court had not approved any modifications to Form 6.
- Online form change
- A new section asks about the applicant’s parents’ status in relation to the last Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
- Statutory form
- The statutory Form 6 itself has not been amended.
- Next step
- The court said it would examine who modified the form after receiving an Election Commission report.
- Hearing
- A three-judge bench was hearing petitions filed against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Quotes
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant
Chief Justice of India and head of the three-judge Supreme Court bench hearing the petitions.
“Let’s be very clear. Any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us... Let us also be clear that when the report will be produced, we will like to see who has modified what.”
indianexpress.com
Saurav Das
CJP's Saurav Das, author of the cited social media post
“Important: This is major! Today, the Supreme Court has distanced itself from one of Gyanesh Kumar’s illegalities. Chief Justice Surya Kant has said that the court DID NOT approve any changes in Form 6 (the form for registration of new voters). Remember that the other two Election Commissioners had objected to a change in the Form which they said was leading to “harassment” of new voters, especially the Gen Z who were being stopped from becoming registered voters. The Form could only be changed [”
timesnownews.com
Sources
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