On Monday, the Supreme Court clarified that it had neither approved nor rejected the changes made to Form 6 for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The court said it had only agreed to examine the issue. The notice, directed to the Election Commission of India (ECI), and the hearing scheduled for October 29, are the first steps in a matter that remains pending.
The clarification follows the court’s earlier ruling on the Bihar SIR exercise, where Justice Joymalaya Bagchi noted that the revised form had not yet been introduced. In that judgment the bench upheld the SIR process but deliberately left the validity of the new form untouched.
The fresh petition, filed by a petitioner concerned about the alterations, prompted the bench to issue the notice and to set the October 29 hearing. The court reiterated that it has not taken any position on the amended form, stating, ‘We neither said we approved it nor we rejected it. We will examine it.’
The case underscores the court’s cautious approach toward electoral‑roll reforms. While the earlier decision confirmed the integrity of the SIR exercise, the legality of the updated Form 6 remains unresolved, according to the bench.
The October 29 hearing will decide whether the changes to Form 6 comply with constitutional and statutory requirements, and the outcome will determine if the revised form can be used in future SIR operations.