The Election Commission of India has formally denied altering Form 6, following internal objections regarding new data requirements for first-time voters. While commissioners flagged unauthorized additions, the poll panel insists the controversial section remains a separate annexure.
Institutional Conflict Over Voter Registration
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has officially refuted claims that Form 6, the document utilized by first-time voters for registration, has undergone unauthorized modifications. The statement comes following significant internal friction, where Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded formal objections regarding the governance of the poll panel over the past ten months.
The Anatomy of the Dispute
The controversy centers on the inclusion of questions regarding Special Intensive Revision (SIR) status. Applicants were prompted to disclose whether family members had appeared on electoral rolls dating back to the early 2000s. Although the ECI classified this as non-mandatory, the digital interface effectively blocked submission until the query was addressed. Commissioners Joshi and Sandhu labeled the implementation as illegal, arguing that the ECI lacked the authority to modify registration requirements without formal government amendments to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Technical Distinctions and Governance
To resolve the internal impasse, the ECI maintained that Form 6 itself remains static. The panel argued that the disputed data points were incorporated via a separate document labeled Annexure D. By framing the SIR-related questions as a supplementary declaration rather than an alteration to the core form, the commission claims to have bypassed the legal requirement for rule amendments. Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat and former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa have both characterized the objections raised by the current commissioners as valid, highlighting growing scrutiny over the panel's procedural autonomy. Despite the high-level pushback from within the commission to excise the requirement, the SIR mandate remains in effect for applicants across various states.