Election Commission Scraps Form 6 Affidavit Rule, Announces Transparency Steps Amid SIR Row

Facing mounting pressure over its handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India has announced a series of corrective measures, including scrapping a disputed Form 6 requirement, extending objection deadlines in two states, and pledging greater transparency around its internal decision-making.

The announcement came at a meeting attended by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, even as opposition parties continued nationwide protests demanding the CEC's resignation and pushed ahead with efforts to initiate formal proceedings against him over the SIR exercise.

Form 6 Affidavit Requirement Dropped

Central to the changes is a rollback of the recently added requirement in Form 6 asking new applicants to declare whether their parents or grandparents had participated in an earlier round of SIR. Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had reportedly objected to this addition earlier, a dispute that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh referenced on Saturday when he accused the Commission of making an "illegal, unconstitutional" change that created hurdles for first-time, Gen Z voters.

Under the revised process, applicants in states where the SIR has already been completed, including Kerala, will only need to submit Form 6 along with standard supporting documents, without referencing any previous SIR participation. The Commission clarified that the older, more detailed form will continue to apply only in states where the SIR is still underway, and maintained that the process there had the Supreme Court's approval. The Commission also confirmed it will launch a fresh campaign in states where the SIR is complete to enrol eligible residents who were left off the rolls.

Deadlines Extended, Hearings Simplified

The Commission extended the deadline for filing claims and objections in Delhi to October 30, with disposal now required by November 30, and in Maharashtra to October 12, with disposal by November 10. Where the SIR is still underway, Booth Level Officers will now visit flagged households directly to collect documents rather than requiring in-person hearings, an adult family member may represent someone unable to attend, and the Commission will expand online hearings and set up help desks and camps for the homeless and those in labour camps and night shelters.

Commission Moves To Open Up Internal Processes

In a more significant institutional shift, the Election Commission said it would begin disclosing meeting agendas in advance and formally recording minutes of its proceedings, a step that follows reports that Commissioners Joshi and Sandhu had noted on file that they were not being informed of certain agendas and decisions before they were taken. The move is widely being read as an implicit acknowledgment of the very rift the Commission has publicly denied exists, having repeatedly insisted that every SIR-related decision was approved unanimously by all three commissioners.

The Commission also clarified that Electoral Registration Officers retain authority to change electoral rolls through the ECI Net system, addressing claims that this had been centralised with the IT division at headquarters after the new portal launched. It will also set up a committee of a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and IIT and IIIT experts to review the portal and vet future changes against electoral law.

Why It Matters

The measures represent the Commission's most substantive public response yet to weeks of opposition pressure over the SIR process, and specifically address the Form 6 concerns raised by Ramesh and other Congress leaders. Whether the changes are enough to satisfy opposition parties demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation remains to be seen, with protests over the issue continuing in several states and legal challenges to aspects of the SIR exercise still pending before the courts.

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