The Supreme Court of India questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding its implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, delivered strong directives to the ECI regarding voter registration forms and submission timelines.
Key Highlights of the Supreme Court Hearing
1. Misuse of Form 6 for Existing Voters
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The Issue: The bench questioned why individuals who were already registered on previous electoral rolls were being asked to fill out Form 6 to re-enroll.
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Form Integrity: The court emphasized that Form 6 is exclusively meant for first-time / new voters and contains a declaration that the applicant has not been enrolled elsewhere.
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No Unilateral Alterations: The Supreme Court explicitly stated that Forms 6, 7, and 8 are statutory prescribed formats and the Election Commission cannot modify their core criteria or application scope arbitrarily.
2. Deadline Extension & Proactive Outreach
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Arbitrary Cut-off: The Court questioned the ECI’s insistence on an October 30 deadline for re-enrolment, noting that no elections are due in the national capital in the immediate future.
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Proactive Duty: The CJI noted that the ECI should not sit passively waiting for applications, but should actively reach out to affected voters to rectify omissions.
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ECI Concession: In response to the bench’s observations, the Election Commission expressed its willingness to extend the deadline and adopt a simplified solution for voters unable to submit enumeration forms on time.
Context: Statutory Form Breakdown
| Form | Statutory Purpose | Issue Raised in Delhi SIR |
| Form 6 | Application for inclusion of name in electoral roll for first-time / new voters. | Existing voters were forced to declare themselves as new voters. |
| Form 7 | Application for objection to inclusion or deletion of a name from the roll. | Misapplied during large-scale voter list purges. |
| Form 8 | Application for correction, shifting, or updating existing voter details. | Suggested by petitioners as a more appropriate route for updating un-enumerated entries. |
