Election Commission of India amended Form 6 on July 5, 2026 to include a new declaration about the Special Intensive Revision, a move that triggered a formal objection from Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
Form 6 is the sole portal for first‑time voters to register, demanding personal details, a photo, proof of age and address, and a declaration that the applicant has never appeared on a roll. The new question forces applicants to state whether their name, a parent’s or a grandparent’s name appeared on the last SIR, a sweep that took place in the early 2000s in most states.
The Special Intensive Revision, launched in Bihar in June 2025, has already purged about 13 crore names from electoral rolls across states and Union Territories. While many removed names belong to deceased voters or those who have migrated, the revision also excised living voters who claim never to have been registered.
Commissioners Joshi and Sandhu argued that changes to Form 6 must be enacted through a formal amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and notified in the Gazette, because the form falls under Section 28 of the Representation of the People Act. They labeled the online change as "illegal" and "unauthorised" and petitioned the government for a review.
The Election Commission said that internal disagreements are part of its decision‑making process and that all decisions in the past year were unanimous. Meanwhile, a 19‑year‑old from Jaipur, who had to explain to the registrar that his grandfather never appeared on the 2002 roll, said he was worried that the new question could bar him from voting.
The government has not yet responded, but the matter may be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs for a formal review before the next general election.