NEW DELHI: Election Commission officials said Monday Form 6 had not been changed; only an additional declaration form had been introduced under the SIR documentation framework, to accompany it.The clarification followed CJI Surya Kant’s observation that “any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us”.This had led LoP Rahul Gandhi to accuse CEC Gyanesh Kumar of changing Form 6 “illegally and unilaterally”.EC called Gandhi’s statement misleading and said his citation of its September 26 press note ignored paragraph 1(iii), which referred only to Supreme Court having upheld the declaration attached to Form 6. It said Bihar’s June 24-2025 SIR order and the September 26 note had full commission approval.
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SIR orders for Bihar on June 24-2025, 12 states and UTs on Oct 27-2025, and 19 states and UTs on May 14-2026 required applicants to file annexure D with Form 6/8 to support its declaration. EC said all SIR decisions had unanimously been approved by CEC and both election commissioners.Sources said SC’s May 27-2026 order acknowledged that new voters had to submit Form 6 with annexure D. It held Bihar’s SIR neither conflicted with RP Act and Registration of Electors Rules, nor undermined free and fair polls, and called the documentation regime a considered exercise of EC’s administrative discretion towards its constitutional mandate. They said the declaration form was introduced to ease compliance because filers needed no other document.On September 29, EC dropped the additional declaration requirement in states and UTs where SIR was completed or is yet to start.
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