The Election Commission has introduced a new condition for adding new voters through online submissions of Form 6. Applicants will now have to provide details linked to their parents from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls.
According to the report, the SIR was carried out ahead of the Bihar Assembly election last year and later extended to nine states and three Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Puducherry. Following the exercise, 5.58 crore names were removed from the electoral rolls, including deceased voters and those registered in more than one place.
Election Commission sources said earlier it was sufficient for applicants to submit their own details along with family members’ names and voter ID particulars. Under the updated online Form 6, applicants must also state whether their name appeared in the electoral roll prepared during the last SIR and answer whether any one among their parents or grandparents was listed.
If such a name existed, applicants are required to provide the related Assembly constituency, polling station number and serial number. While it has not been explicitly stated as “mandatory”, the report notes that the online form cannot be submitted without filling this section, and the requirement applies only to online applications, not direct submissions.
The change has triggered criticism as electoral registration rules under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 require that amendments to Form 6 be made with due consultation and approvals from the Law and Finance ministries. The report says the modification appeared on the Election Commission’s website without any such approval being cited.
