SC Says Form 6 Changes Not Court Approved
CJI Surya Kant says the Supreme Court did not approve modifications to the voter-registration form and wants to know who made the changes.
The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had not approved any modification to Form 6, the statutory application used by citizens to register as voters. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made the observation while hearing petitions challenging the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The three-judge bench headed by CJI Surya Kant, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, indicated that it would examine the Election Commission's records to determine who authorised or implemented the changes. The CJI said the court would want to see who had modified the form once the Election Commission submitted its report.
The controversy concerns the online version of Form 6 on the Election Commission's portal. A new section was added asking applicants about the status of their parents in relation to the last Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, even though the statutory form itself had not been amended.
The issue had already triggered objections within the Election Commission. Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi had recorded that Form 6 could not be altered without amendments to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, while Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu concurred with that view. Sandhu later described the online change as unauthorised and illegal and directed that it be removed.
Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for a petitioner, referred to the changes and argued that the modified form had affected first-time voters. She told the court that additional conditions had been included in Form 6 during the SIR process despite the statutory form not being amended through the prescribed procedure.
The Election Commission subsequently removed the SIR declaration from its ECINET application portal in states where the SIR exercise had concluded. The poll body had said that outside the SIR period, the forms applicable under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used.
The Supreme Court's observation does not by itself determine whether the modifications were legally authorised or who was responsible for them. The court is expected to examine the records and the Election Commission's response before reaching conclusions on the disputed changes.