Supreme Court reprimands EC over SIR in Delhi, says it cannot make changes to Forms 6, 7, and 8

October 28, 2026

New Delhi: While hearing petitions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Delhi, the Supreme Court posed several questions to the Election Commission. The court questioned why people already on the electoral rolls are being asked to fill out Form 6 to re-enroll, even though this form is for registering new voters.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant clarified that Forms 6, Form 7, and Form 8 are prescribed formats and the Election Commission cannot make changes to them. The bench also included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

Questions raised on the October 30 deadline

The Supreme Court also asked the Election Commission why it was insisting on setting an October 30 deadline for submitting applications, when no elections are scheduled in Delhi in the near future.

The bench said, “Do not set any deadline for re-registration of names.”

The court asked the Election Commission to devise a simple solution for voters who were unable to submit their enumeration forms for various reasons. The bench said that if a person’s name was previously on the electoral roll but is no longer there, a solution should be found based on their situation rather than considering them a new voter.

What is the controversy regarding Form 6 and Form 8?

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, argued that a large number of voters did not receive enumeration forms or were unable to submit them for various reasons. These include people who have moved from one place to another in Delhi.

Prashant Bhushan said that Form 8 is used to change addresses on the electoral roll, while Form 6 is for registering new voters. In such a situation, it is not appropriate to force people already on the voter list to fill out Form 6, as this form may require them to declare that their name was not previously included in any voter list.

Election Commission should reach out to voters directly: Supreme Court

The Chief Justice stated that the Election Commission should not simply wait for voters to submit their applications, but should directly contact them and assist them in completing the process.

The bench advised the Commission to continue accepting applications through Form 6 and Form 8 and adopt the simplest solution. The Election Commission has expressed its willingness to extend the deadline for submitting applications.

Petitions mention voter list data

The petitions, filed by transparency activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, stated that the total number of voters in Delhi was approximately 14.5 million at the time the SIR process began. Of these, approximately 9.7 million submitted their enumeration forms, while forms for approximately 4.7 million people were not received.

According to Prashant Bhushan, the Election Commission has classified approximately 4.3 million voters as “permanently migrated” or “absent.” Of these, approximately 3.159 million voters have been classified as “permanently migrated,” and approximately 1.1 million as “missing” or “untraceable.” Additionally, approximately 200,000 voters have been declared dead.

He argued that a significant number of these voters may be those who did not receive the counting forms or were unable to submit them for some reason. The court emphasized the need for simple and practical solutions for affected voters throughout this process.