'Modified' form 6 row: Why is Rahul Gandhi training his guns on Gyanesh Kumar, what SC said and how EC responded

The row over the Election Commission of India's functioning and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) escalated on Monday after the Supreme Court made it clear that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6, which has been used for enrolling new voters in electoral rolls

The Congress party has stepped up its attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged it was "established beyond doubt" that Kumar had "changed Form 6 illegally and unilaterally," and party general secretary KC Venugopal announced a nationwide campaign that will continue until the CEC is removed.

The poll panel termed the Congress leader's allegations "misleading," and said that the "order for SIR in Bihar issued on 24 June 2025 was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. This order has been upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in its judgment dated 27 May 2026".

Quick answers to key questions

•5

QUESTIONS

Form 6 is the prescribed application for Indian citizens to get included in the electoral roll as new voters, capturing details like name, date of birth, and address.

The controversy arises from allegations that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar unilaterally altered Form 6 without necessary approvals, raising concerns about compliance with electoral rules.

The Supreme Court clarified that it has not approved any modifications to Form 6 and is seeking to determine who authorized any changes linked to the electoral processes.

The changes included introducing an additional declaration requiring new voters to provide their parents' dates and places of birth and linking the application process to the last SIR.

The Election Commission has withdrawn the additional declaration in states where the SIR is complete, requiring applicants to fill only the statutory Form 6 under existing electoral rules.

The commission highlighted Point 1(iii) of its 26 September press note, which stated that "the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR has been upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court".

INDIA bloc MPs are preparing to march from Parliament House to the ECI office on Tuesday, October 6, as part of its broader campaign against the CEC.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said MPs of all Opposition parties would march peacefully from Parliament House to the Election Commission at 11 AM, with MPs asked to assemble at Makar Dwar at 10.30 AM. "Till October 8, all INDIA alliance parties will organise pad-yatras at the district level. There will be demonstrations; there will be meetings," he said.

What is Form 6?

Election Commission's Form 6 is the prescribed application through which an eligible Indian citizen can get included in the electoral roll as a new voter.

Citizens who have attained, or will attain, 18 years of age on one of the four qualifying dates January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1 can fill the form.

The form seeks details such as the applicant’s name, date of birth, address and other information required for voter enrolment. It is prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

Applicants can submit Form 6 online or offline.

What changed in SIR?

The latest row concerns an additional declaration introduced alongside the online version of Form 6 on the ECINET portal during the SIR exercise.

While announcing the Bihar SIR in 2025, the poll panel added a new declaration to Form 6, asking new voters for their parents’ dates and places of birth and to submit proof of the same. Subsequently, the declaration of Form 6 was further revised, introducing mapping to the last SIR instead of seeking proof of citizenship.

On 27 May 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the Bihar SIR.

As per a recent report by The Indian Express, on 16 May 2026 and 13 August 2026, the two Election Commissioners objected to the addition to Form 6, stating that any changes to Form 6 can only be made by the Government, not the ECI.

After the Indian Express reported these objections by the two ECs, the poll panel, in a press release on 26 September, said that the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court. The statement referred to the Supreme Court’s May 2026 judgment on the Bihar SIR.

The Supreme Court’s observation on Monday, 5 October, however, made clear that it had not approved any modification to Form 6.

The Election Commission has maintained that Form 6 itself was not amended and that the declaration was an additional document connected specifically to the SIR exercise.

Why is it controversial?

The issue was highlighted by an Indian Express report, which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to the changes. According to the report, Joshi recorded that the statutory form could not be altered without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and Sandhu concurred.

The petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi similarly alleges that requirements relating to an applicant’s ancestry and links to a previous SIR were introduced through the Election Commission’s software without the statutory amendment required under the electoral rules.

The petitioners have argued that the issue is part of a broader concern about whether the Election Commission, as a multi-member body, made decisions collectively.

What Supreme Court said on Monday?

The Supreme Court, during its hearing on Monday, said it had not approved any modification to Form 6, the statutory application used to register as a new voter, raising questions over who authorised additional requirements linked to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

“Any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us. Let’s be clear. When the record is produced, we would like to see who has modified,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said while hearing petitions challenging decisions allegedly taken by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar without the concurrence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

The court issued notice on one of the pleas and tagged it with another petition challenging the functioning of the Election Commission.

The bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana has not concluded that the CEC acted unilaterally or that the Form 6 changes were illegal. The court has sought responses and records before determining whether the statutory procedure was followed.

What is the status of additional declaration?

For now, the poll panel has withdrawn the additional SIR-related declaration from the online voter enrolment process in states where the SIR had been completed.

The declaration remains available on ECINET in states and Union Territories where the SIR is still underway. In states where the exercise has concluded, applicants are required to fill only the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

The poll panel said the additional declaration was meant for the SIR and that, outside the SIR period, the forms prescribed under the 1960 Rules would be used.