Overview
- The Election Commission on Tuesday told state chief electoral officers that people whose names were omitted from Special Intensive Revision draft rolls may submit Form 6 for inclusion and should not be prosecuted under Section 31 merely for filing the form.
- That protection applies only if the applicant is not already enrolled in another parliamentary or assembly constituency and if the declaration on the form otherwise complies with the law.
- The EC cited a Delhi High Court judgment of October 14 that said fears about filing Form 6 were misplaced, but the Supreme Court has questioned the practice and will hear objections to the EC clarification on November 19.
- Two serving Election Commissioners privately objected to an extra SIR-related declaration the EC had put into the online Form 6 and the commission has since separated that declaration from the statutory form.
- Officials and activists warn voters still face confusion on the ground because some CEO offices lack SOPs for using Form 8 or enumeration routes, the EC has ordered wide publicity, and unresolved procedures could leave wrongly deleted people unable to access services tied to voter lists.