The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had never ruled on the validity of the Election Commission of India's (ECI) modified Form 6, used for new voter registration, noting that the revised version was introduced after it examined the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said its earlier observations could not be interpreted as judicial approval or rejection of the changes.
“There has been no adjudication on the new Form 6 and that is all we have said,” the bench told a counsel. Justice Bagchi clarified that the CJI's October 5 remarks only meant that the modified form was not in existence when the court delivered its judgment on the Bihar SIR.
The clarification assumes significance amid a controversy over the ECI's September 26 statement claiming that the Supreme Court had upheld an additional declaration introduced alongside Form 6.
The declaration requires applicants to specify whether their own name, or that of a parent or grandparent, appeared on electoral rolls prepared during an earlier SIR exercise. Its legality has been challenged over concerns that the additional requirement was introduced without following the prescribed statutory procedure.
The bench agreed to examine the issue and directed that the petition be listed alongside other SIR-related matters on October 27. The hearing will also cover broader challenges to the ECI's functioning and decisions concerning electoral-roll revisions.
The court had earlier sought records explaining who authorised the changes and their legal basis.
