Election Commission Changes Form 6 for New Voters, Adds Parents’ SIR Declaration
<p>Election Commission adds parental SIR status section to online Form 6 for new voters.</p>
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The Election Commission of India has introduced a new section in the online version of Form 6, the application form for new voter registration, requiring applicants to declare whether their parents were listed in the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. This change comes amid ongoing SIR exercises and follows the deletion of over 5.58 crore names from electoral rolls in several states and union territories since 2025. The statutory, downloadable version of Form 6 remains unchanged.
According to The Indian Express, the new section appears as an unlettered “declaration form” in the online Form 6 on the ECINET portal. Applicants must indicate if their own or their parents’ names were present in the last SIR, and if so, provide details such as assembly constituency, booth number, and serial number. The online form does not allow submission without completing this section, even though it is not marked as mandatory.
As highlighted by Scroll, the statutory Form 6 available for physical submission has not been amended, and the new declaration is only present in the online version. The added section offers three options: the applicant’s name exists in the last SIR, their parents’ names exist, or neither does. If the first two are selected, further details must be provided, but the process for those unable to supply this information remains unclear.
As noted in an article by The Indian Express, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, stipulates that only the Central government can amend electoral forms such as Form 6, following due process and official notification. No such amendment or notification has been issued by the Law and Justice Ministry as of 12 July 2026. The Election Commission has not responded to requests for comment regarding the legal status of the online form’s new section.
“The EC cannot even add a comma to the form on its own,” a former senior Election Commission official was quoted as saying, highlighting the legal requirement for amendments to be notified by the Centre.
Analysis showed that concerns have been raised about the potential for arbitrary disenfranchisement, especially after large-scale deletions in states like West Bengal and Bihar during the SIR process. In West Bengal, over 27 lakh electors were deleted, with many appeals still pending before tribunals. The impact of the new declaration on the children of those whose names were deleted remains uncertain.
During the ongoing SIR, reporting indicated that the ECINET portal’s Form 6 requires the SIR declaration for applicants from all states and union territories where the SIR has concluded or is underway, except Bihar and Assam. In Assam, the SIR is on hold pending completion of the National Register of Citizens exercise.
“New applicants, predominantly people who have recently turned 18, are now required to trace themselves or their parents to the last SIR,” one report stated, underscoring the practical challenges for young voters.
In the middle of the process, coverage revealed that the SIR declaration is significant because the current revision is more intensive than previous annual updates, requiring more documentation and verification. The EC’s data shows that most deletions have been due to deaths, migration, or duplicate enrolments, but the effect on new voter enrolment is still being assessed.
The legal framework, as details emerged, mandates that any change to Form 6 must be notified by the Central government after consultation with the Election Commission. The absence of such notification has led to questions about the enforceability of the new online requirement and its implications for applicants unable to provide the requested parental SIR details.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.