EC: Previously enrolled voters can submit form 6 for inclusion

The Election Commission on Tuesday said previously enrolled voters can submit Form 6 for inclusion as electors if their names are missing from draft Special Intensive Revision (SIR) rolls.

The clarification came days after the Supreme Court asked ECI not to make nearly 4.3 million Delhi residents – whose names were removed from the electoral rolls after they could not be found at their last known addresses – reapply as new voters through Form 6 provided they were on the 2026 rolls. Instead, it suggested that such voters be permitted to restore their names through Form 8, which is intended for address-related changes, or through the enumeration process.

In a letter to all state chief electoral officers, ECI said that it was brought to its notice that certain people whose names did not figure in the draft electoral roll published during the ongoing SIR were hesitant to submit Form 6 as they were also required to furnish a declaration to the effect that their name was being included in the electoral rolls for the first time.

“Therefore, such electors believe that submission of Form 6, in view of their previous enrolment, would amount to making a false declaration and render them liable for prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950,” it said.

ECI clarified that voters whose names did not figure in the draft SIR rolls could submit Form 6 to seek fresh inclusion in the final voters’ list, even if they were enrolled previously. Citing a Delhi high court’s October 14 judgment, ECI said the apprehension of making a false declaration was misplaced.

A senior official in the Delhi CEO’s office said the machinery on the ground had received no guidance on the Form8 route. “We haven’t received any SOPs or instructions from the ECI to get people placed under ASDD categories to fill Form8,” the official said. Activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri also wrote to ECI and Delhi CEO, seeking “immediate compliance”.