EC: Previously enrolled voters can submit form 6 for inclusion

The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that previously enrolled voters can submit Form 6 for inclusion in the electoral rolls if their names are absent from the draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) rolls. This clarification came after the Supreme Court instructed the EC not to compel nearly 4.3 million Delhi residents, whose names had been removed from the electoral rolls due to inability to be located at their last known addresses, to reapply as new voters using Form 6.

This condition applied provided they were included in the 2026 rolls. Instead, the court recommended the use of Form 8, meant for address-related changes, or the enumeration process for such voters.

In a letter to all state chief electoral officers, the EC explained that electors who were not listed in the draft roll published during SIR were reluctant to submit Form 6 because it required them to declare that their name was being included in the electoral rolls for the first time. The EC assured that this submission, considering their previous enrollment, would not be construed as a false declaration, nor would it expose them to prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

The EC's clarification was based on a judgment by the Delhi High Court from October 14, which it believes dispels the worry of making a false declaration. However, a senior official from the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office reported that the ground machinery had not received any specific guidelines from the EC regarding the Form 8 route. This official added that they have not received any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or instructions from the EC to categorize people under ASDD and fill Form 8.

Activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri have written to the EC and the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer, urging for immediate compliance with the EC's clarification.