The Election Commission has removed the SIR-linked parents’ and grandparents’ voter details declaration from online Form 6 in states where the revision is complete.
The Election Commission of India has removed the additional Special Intensive Revision-linked declaration from the online Form 6 in states and Union Territories where the electoral-roll revision exercise has been completed.
The change means that new voters in these regions will no longer be required to provide details about whether they, their parents or their grandparents were included in electoral rolls prepared during the previous SIR.
The original statutory Form 6, used by eligible citizens to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll, has now been restored on the ECINET platform and the relevant Chief Electoral Officer portals.
What Has Been Removed From Form 6?
The additional declaration asked applicants to indicate whether:
- Their own name appeared in the electoral roll prepared during the previous SIR;
- Their parents’ or grandparents’ names appeared in that roll; or
- Neither they nor their relatives were included.
Applicants whose relatives were registered were also asked to provide information such as the Assembly constituency, polling-part number and serial number of the relevant electoral-roll entry.
Although the section was presented as a separate declaration, applicants using the online portal reportedly could not submit Form 6 without answering it.
These additional questions have now disappeared from the online form in states where the SIR is no longer underway. The declaration will, however, continue to be used in states and Union Territories where the revision exercise remains in progress.
Two Election Commissioners Had Raised Objections
The rollback follows reported objections from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
According to The Indian Express, Joshi recorded in May that Form 6 was prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and could not be altered without a formal amendment by the Union government. Sandhu agreed with that position and later sought the immediate removal of the online changes.
The commissioners reportedly described the inclusion as “unauthorised” and “illegal”, arguing that it could create unnecessary difficulties for young and first-time voters.
Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, statutory voter-registration, deletion and correction forms can be amended by the Central government through the prescribed legal process.
Election Commission Defends SIR Declaration
The Election Commission has maintained that the statutory Form 6 itself was not formally amended. According to the poll panel, the declaration was an additional requirement introduced specifically for the SIR process.
The Commission has also said that its authority to attach the declaration during the Bihar SIR was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Following a meeting involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi on September 26, the poll panel clarified that regular forms prescribed under the 1960 Rules would be used during non-SIR periods.
What the Change Means for New Voters
New applicants in states where the SIR has concluded can now complete the standard Form 6 without establishing a link to their parents’ or grandparents’ entries in electoral rolls from the early 2000s.
They will still have to satisfy the regular eligibility requirements and submit the prescribed proof of age and ordinary residence.
The change reduces the documentation burden on first-time voters, particularly those whose parents’ names were absent from older electoral rolls or whose families could not locate constituency, booth and serial-number details.
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