Congress accuses CEC of law violation over Form 6 changes, urges Supreme Court to hold him accountable

On September 26, 2026, the Congress accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of unlawfully altering Form 6 and urged the Supreme Court to intervene and hold him accountable. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, criticized Kumar's continued tenure as an affront to the Indian people and called for his resignation, a suggestion made by Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

According to Ramesh, the Election Commission panickedly directed officers to organize special enrollment camps for young voters and promote them through social media late on Friday, September 25, 2026. However, Kumar had previously made it difficult for first-time Gen Z voters to register by adding a mandatory section to Form 6 that asks if parents or grandparents were in the previous SIR.

This change, Ramesh emphasized, is completely illegal as it violates the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules governing Form 6.

The Congress leader pointed out three violations: the stealthy change to Form 6 without official notification in early July 2026, the ECI's unauthorized power to amend Form 6, and the lack of amendment to the relevant Rules under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Ramesh claimed that Kumar, along with other election commissioners, had called for this illegal change to be reversed so young and first-time voters could register without harassment.

The Congress general secretary denounced Kumar for breaking constitutional conventions, practices, and the law passed by Parliament. He asserted that Kumar's continued service is an affront to the Indian people. The Supreme Court must immediately take suo motu cognizance and hold Kumar accountable, according to Ramesh. He suggested that Kumar could redeem himself by resigning and turning approver, as proposed by Rahul Gandhi, and that the youth would support this move.