Form 6 row: How an ECI order reached Supreme Court | Timeline

On June 24, 2025, the Election Commission of India (ECI) initiated a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, which was the first such large-scale revision since 2003. The primary objectives were to ensure all eligible citizens were registered as voters and to remove ineligible individuals. The ECI cited factors like rapid urbanization, unreported deaths, and the alleged inclusion of illegal immigrants as reasons for undertaking the revision.

The SIR process required applicants for new voter registration to submit Form 6, accompanied by an additional Declaration Form that mapped the applicant or their parents to the 2002 base rolls. On September 23, 2026, the Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally and repeatedly objected to changes to Form 6 without their knowledge, with at least 14 objections over ten months.

On September 24, 2026, the ECI contended that all decisions taken by the Commission, including electoral roll revisions and SIR, were unanimous. However, they did not specify who approved the alteration to Form 6 or why the online declaration appeared despite these objections. On September 26, the ECI reiterated its legal stance, stating that the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The Commission also affirmed that the statutory forms under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used outside the SIR period.

However, on October 5, 2026, the Supreme Court clarified that no modified version of Form 6 had been approved by it. In response to a plea involving CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s functioning, the Court rejected the notion that a modified Form 6 had been used in Delhi. Chief Justice Surya Kant emphasized that any alterations to the statutory form had not received the Court’s approval.