New Delhi: New applicants seeking enrolment as voters through Form 6 in states and Union territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is not currently under way will no longer have to submit a declaration mapping themselves or a relative to electoral rolls from the previous SIR.

The Election Commission announced the clarification on Saturday as it addressed questions surrounding the Form 6 declaration used during the ongoing SIR exercise.

In areas where SIR is currently under way, the additional declaration will continue to accompany Form 6 applications. The applicant is required to provide details linking themselves or relatives to the electoral rolls from the last SIR, along with specified family details and EPIC numbers where available.

Different Form 6 requirements for SIR and non-SIR areas

The Election Commission said the additional declaration will remain mandatory in states and UTs where SIR is currently being conducted.

For new electors in these areas, Form 6 will continue to be accompanied by information relating to the applicant or their relatives in the electoral rolls from the previous SIR.

The requirement also includes details such as the names of the applicant’s father, mother and spouse, along with their EPIC numbers where available.

For areas where SIR is not under way, however, the Commission said the forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, will apply.

This effectively restores the Form 6 process used outside the SIR framework, without the additional SIR-specific mapping declaration.

SIR declaration remains in ongoing revision areas

The Election Commission said the continued use of the additional declaration in ongoing SIR areas was based on the legal position surrounding the exercise.

In its Saturday statement, the Commission said the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The declaration was first introduced as part of the SIR order issued for Bihar on June 24, 2025.

The format subsequently changed in later phases of the exercise. The Bihar version included details relating to the applicant’s or parents’ date and place of birth and provisions for supporting documentation.

Later versions shifted towards mapping the applicant or relatives to electoral rolls from the previous SIR.

Three SIR orders were unanimously approved, EC says

The Commission also addressed reports of differences among its members over the SIR process.

It said the SIR order issued on June 24, 2025, covering all states and Union territories and beginning with Bihar, was approved unanimously by the full Commission.

The Commission further said subsequent SIR orders for later phases were also approved unanimously by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The Commission’s statement came after reports of differences over the SIR exercise and the Form 6 process. The poll panel said the Saturday statement itself was issued with the approval of the full Commission.

Internal concerns had emerged over Form 6

The clarification follows reports that the two election commissioners had raised concerns internally about changes to Form 6.

According to the reported timeline, Vivek Joshi raised an objection to the revised Form 6 format on May 16, while S S Sandhu endorsed the format on August 13.

The issue subsequently became part of the broader political dispute surrounding the SIR exercise, with opposition parties alleging that changes to the form had been made unilaterally.

The Election Commission’s latest statement disputes that characterisation by stating that the relevant SIR orders received unanimous approval from the three-member Commission.

SIR underway in 12 states and UTs

The Election Commission said SIR has been completed in 20 states and Union territories and remains under way in 12 others.

Its published SIR schedule includes Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi and Nagaland among the states and UTs covered in the relevant phase, with the qualifying date set for October 1, 2026.

For voters who were left out of the rolls during or after an SIR exercise, the Commission has said applications for inclusion can continue through the continuous updation process.

The Commission has also directed election officials to conduct special enrolment drives for young and first-time voters.

Easier verification for voters facing SIR notices

The Form 6 clarification came alongside other changes announced by the Election Commission to simplify the SIR process for voters facing discrepancies.

Voters who receive notices because they are classified as unmapped or have logical discrepancies will not ordinarily be required to appear personally before the Electoral Registration Officer.

Instead, Booth Level Officers will visit their homes, collect the required documents and upload them to the ECINet system for the ERO to consider.

Hearings will be held only in exceptional circumstances and, where possible, online. An authorised adult family member can also attend a hearing on behalf of an elector.

The Commission has additionally directed district election officers to establish help desks and special camps for people such as labourers, homeless citizens, poor residents and those living in night shelters.

EC clarifies reported internal dispute

The Commission also responded to reports concerning the functioning of its IT division and communications involving officers on deputation.

It said a letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary was not related to a policy decision of the Commission or its IT division, but to the functioning of an officer on deputation.

According to the Commission, work redistribution orders issued by that officer were not implemented after directions from two commissioners. It also said oversight of the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner was never withdrawn.

The poll panel said ECINet access for field officers is role-based and linked to their statutory responsibilities. It also announced that a committee headed by a senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent IIT/IIIT expert would review the system.

Claims and objections deadlines extended

The Election Commission has also extended certain deadlines related to claims and objections.

In Delhi, the deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended to October 30, while disposal has been extended to November 30.

In Maharashtra, the filing deadline has been extended to October 12, with disposal continuing until November 10.

The changes are part of the Commission’s broader effort to process electoral-roll claims while the SIR exercise continues across different phases.

What the Form 6 change means for new voters

The latest clarification creates two different processes depending on whether SIR is under way in the applicant’s state or UT.

A new voter applying in a non-SIR area will use the applicable Form 6 process under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, without the additional SIR mapping declaration.

A new voter in an ongoing SIR area will continue to face the additional declaration requirement associated with that exercise.

The distinction is therefore based on the electoral-roll revision phase applicable in the relevant state or UT.

The Election Commission’s latest statement also places the Form 6 issue within its wider clarification of how SIR decisions were made and how voter verification will be handled during the ongoing exercise.