Supreme Court says it has not ruled on revised Form 6, contradicting Election Commission claim

The Supreme Court on Monday said clearly that it has not approved the declaration that the Election Commission of India (ECI) changed in Form 6, used for new voter registration. The Bench also pointed out that the revised form was not before the Court when it delivered its verdict in the matter of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. The claim that the Supreme Court has endorsed the revised Form 6 has since been reopened for debate.

The matter came up during the hearing of a fresh petition before a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana. The petition had raised concerns over the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the changes made to Form 6.

The petitioner's counsel told the Court that the Supreme Court has not approved the revised Form 6, although the Election Commission had claimed that the Court had put its stamp on the changed declaration. Justice Bagchi responded that the Supreme Court has given no ruling on the new Form 6. When the verdict in the Bihar SIR case was delivered, the revised form did not exist at all. He also said that the Court's earlier oral observations cannot be read to mean that the changed declaration was approved or rejected.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Surya Kant cautioned against interpreting the Court's observations in news reports to suit one's own reading. He said due attention should be paid to the proper context of what the Court says.

What exactly is the change in Form 6? Under the revised declaration in Form 6, used for new voter registration, an applicant has to state whether their own name or their parents' names were on the rolls during the previous Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The earlier version of Form 6, used during the SIR in other states, carried no such requirement. Questions are therefore being raised over the process by which the change was made.

The Election Commission's decision-making process on these changes has also become a matter of dispute. It has been claimed that two Election Commissioners had objected. The objection is reported to have been that such a change cannot be made to the declaration without the Central government amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

On September 26, the Election Commission issued a press note claiming that the Supreme Court's May 2026 judgment in the Bihar SIR matter had upheld the revised declaration. However, the revised declaration was introduced after the judgment, so the Court had no opportunity to examine its text while delivering it. This became clear at Monday's hearing.

The matter has also taken a political turn. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that Form 6 was changed unilaterally and unlawfully to benefit the BJP. The BJP has rejected the allegations.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the Supreme Court has neither declared the form unlawful nor rejected it. He also dismissed the claim that the Court has said there is anything unlawful in the changes.

On the whole, the Court has clarified the claim that the revised Form 6 has its recognition, but the dispute over the validity of the changes to the declaration and the process followed in making them continues.