In a hearing on Sept. 25, 2024, Chief Justice Surya Kant told the bench that the modified Form 6 had never been approved by the Court. The petition, filed by a concerned citizen group, questioned whether Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had exercised powers reserved for the multi‑member poll body. The Justice emphasized that any such unilateral action would need to be scrutinized under the constitution.
Form 6 falls under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and can only be altered through a formal amendment. The Election Commission says it merely added an extra declaration in July to require new voters to link their details with parental or grandparent records from earlier electoral rolls. The declaration was part of a Special Intensive Revision exercise aimed at cleaning the voter list.
The controversy intensified after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record 14 times over the last ten months to the SIR orders. MP Saket Gokhale cited an RTI response that the Law Ministry had no knowledge of any proposed amendment to Form 6. He also referenced a May Supreme Court ruling that he said was misinterpreted to justify the Commission’s actions.
Chief Justice Kant said the court would examine the records once they are submitted and would issue a decision before the next general election. The ruling will clarify whether the Election Commission’s new declaration complies with constitutional limits.