Overview
- The Election Commission has reconfigured its online Form 6 so applicants in states not undergoing Special Intensive Revision can register without filling the SIR declaration.
- Officials say an IT change to the e-sign workflow had made the SIR declaration effectively mandatory online and blocked submissions until the flow was separated.
- The commission says the declaration was added administratively for SIR phases and that Form 6 itself was never formally amended under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
- Two Election Commissioners raised concerns earlier about the online requirement and the legality of the change, while the commission notes the Supreme Court upheld its power to frame SIR documentation.
- The move restores access for new registrants in non-SIR states and highlights that only the central government can formally amend the statutory Rules that govern Form 6.