Overview
- The Election Commission said on Wednesday that it has withdrawn the additional SIR declaration from its ECINET portal for States and Union Territories where the Special Intensive Revision is complete or has not begun, leaving the extra form only in areas where SIR is running.
- Under the update, first-time voters in non-SIR areas can use the standard Form 6 without supplying the Annexure-D that asked for links to previous electoral rolls or family members' roll details.
- Former election commissioners and legal experts have argued that changing enrolment requirements requires a formal rule change and central approval, and they have questioned the legal basis for different rules in SIR and non-SIR areas.
- The version of Annexure-D now under scrutiny is a stricter July upload that requests relatives' voter IDs and old roll details, and media reports that two serving Election Commissioners repeatedly objected have prompted demands for greater ECI transparency while the Commission says its orders were unanimous.
- Watch for further developments in court and politics because opposition leaders have called for a full rollback and the Supreme Court's May 27 ruling, which limited but recognised some ECI discretion, will be central to any legal review.