Supreme Court Says It Never Approved Modified Form 6 Used For Electoral Rolls During SIR

New Delhi, October 5, 2026: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday clarified that the Supreme Court had not approved any modified version of Form 6 used to include names in electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The clarification came while the court was hearing a petition seeking prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and challenging decisions allegedly taken unilaterally.

The clarification is significant because the Election Commission of India (ECI) had last week claimed that the new declaration annexed to the online Form 6 for the ongoing SIR exercise in some states had been approved by the Supreme Court. The court’s observation now puts that assertion under scrutiny and raises questions over how its earlier judgment was interpreted, Live Law reports.

‘Any Modified Form 6 Has Not Been Approved By Us’

“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 Surya Kant observed.

The controversy centres on changes to the declaration attached to Form 6. Under the new declaration, people seeking registration as new voters must state whether they or their parents were mapped during the previous SIR. The earlier Form 6 used during SIR exercises in other states did not seek such a declaration.

The changes had become controversial after it emerged that two Election Commissioners had objected to them, citing the reason that they could not be made without the Central Government amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

ECI’s September 26 Statement Under Spotlight

After The Indian Express reported that the new declaration had been implemented despite the objections of the two Election Commissioners, the ECI issued a press release on September 26 suggesting that the Supreme Court had upheld the Form 6 declaration in its May 2026 judgment concerning the Bihar SIR.

However, according to the information before the court, the new declaration was introduced after that judgment. The Supreme Court, therefore, had no occasion to examine the modified declaration while deciding the Bihar SIR case.

The Chief Justice’s clarification draws an important distinction between the Supreme Court’s ruling on the ECI’s power to conduct an SIR and approval of a particular declaration subsequently added to Form 6. That distinction could prove important as the court examines the record relating to the modification.

Petition Challenges 14 Alleged Unilateral Decisions

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing a writ petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi seeking the quashing of 14 decisions that were allegedly taken unilaterally.

Tripathi has also sought the constitution of an independent Judicial Inquiry Commission or Special Investigation Team headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and assisted by cybersecurity and information technology experts.

The petition further seeks directions to the competent authority to register complaints and initiate prosecution under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, against Gyanesh Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna and other officials found responsible for an alleged breach of official duty.

Section 32 provides punishment for specified breaches of official duty connected with the preparation, revision or correction of electoral rolls.

Court Calls Prayers ‘Jumbled Up’

During the hearing, the Chief Justice told Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy that the prayers made in the petition appeared to be omnibus and “jumbled up”.

Guruswamy, however, maintained that she stood by the prayers in the petition.

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The bench ultimately issued notice on the petition and tagged it with a similar matter challenging ECI decisions. The proceedings will now bring the circumstances surrounding the modification of Form 6, and the question of who authorised it, under closer judicial examination.

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