Supreme Court neither approved nor rejected ECI’s new Form 6, court clarifies

October 12, 2026

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it has not passed any judgment on the Election Commission’s (ECI) revised Form 6 for registering new voters. The court stated that the revised form was not before it when it delivered its judgment in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar.

A bench comprising Chief Justice (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana issued this clarification while hearing a new petition that questioned the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the changes made to Form 6. The revised form requires applicants to register as new voters to state whether they or their parents were included in the previous SIR.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer stated that the Supreme Court had clarified on October 5 that it had not approved the revised Form 6, while the Election Commission claimed that the revised declaration had received the apex court’s approval.

Responding to this, Justice Bagchi stated that the Supreme Court had not passed any judicial decision on the new Form 6. He clarified that the revised form did not exist at the time of the judgment in the Bihar SIR case.

Justice Bagchi stated, “There has been no judicial decision on the new Form 6.” He clarified that the court’s previous oral observations should not be interpreted as approval or disapproval of the revised declaration.

Chief Justice Surya Kant also cautioned against selectively presenting the court’s observations in the media. He said, “Please do not selectively present words to create news.”

Controversy over the revised Form 6

This clarification from the Supreme Court comes amid the ongoing political controversy over the revised Form 6. Questions are being raised about the circumstances under which the changes to this form were made and whether they were implemented despite objections from two Election Commissioners.

The controversy escalated further when the Election Commission issued a press release on September 26th indicating that the Supreme Court had upheld the revised declaration in its May 2026 decision regarding the Bihar SIR.

However, the revised declaration was implemented after the court’s decision. Therefore, the Supreme Court did not have the opportunity to examine its contents during the hearing of the Bihar SIR case.

Under the revised declaration, applicants for registration as new voters must disclose whether they or their parents were included in the previous SIR. This requirement was not included in the earlier version of Form 6 used during the SIR process in other states.

Questions raised within the Election Commission

The changes to Form 6 have also raised questions about the Election Commission’s internal decision-making process. According to reports, two Election Commissioners had objected on the grounds that the declaration form could not be changed without the Central Government amending the Registration of Voters Rules, 1960.

Political rhetoric also intensified on this issue. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged that changes were made to Form 6 unilaterally and illegally to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP, however, rejected these allegations. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the Supreme Court had neither declared the form illegal nor rejected it. He also objected to the claim that the Supreme Court had declared the changes made to the form illegal.