Not ruled on Form 6 yet, neither approved nor disapproved it: SC

On Monday, the Supreme Court stated that it has not yet tested the validity of the new Form 6 utilized during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for adding new voters to the electoral roll. The bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made this oral observation when a lawyer argued that the Election Commission had released a press note stating that the SC had approved Form 6 while validating SIR in Bihar.

The court's bench clarified that there has been no formal ruling on the new Form 6. During the Bihar SIR judgment delivery, the new Form 6 had not been introduced. The judgment does not explicitly state whether the SC has approved or disapproved the Form 6. Justice Bagchi dismissed claims that the SC had criticized the introduction of Form 6 during the last hearing on SIR-related issues.

The Chief Justice also rebuked the lawyer's argument that the SC had previously stated that Form 6 has not been approved. The court emphasized that such a word or sentence from an oral observation made during a hearing should not be cited as precedent. This new plea would be combined with the pending issues on SIR.