Supreme Court of India Denies Approving Modified Voter Form 6

The Supreme Court of India clarified on October 12 that it has neither approved nor disapproved modifications to Form 6, the application used by citizens to seek inclusion in electoral rolls. The ruling follows a September 26 press release from the Election Commission of India, which suggested the court had upheld the revised form in a May 2026 judgment regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant stated that the modified form did not exist when the court decided the previous Bihar SIR case, meaning there was no occasion for adjudication. Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the issue of the new Form 6 was not present during those hearings. This follows a similar clarification made by the court on October 5 regarding the poll panel's use of the form across various states.

The modified Form 6 requires first-time voters to declare if they or their ancestors appeared in an earlier SIR-era electoral roll. Critics and some Election Commissioners argue the Election Commission of India unilaterally altered a statutory form without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The court has agreed to examine the issue and will hear the petition alongside other SIR-related cases on October 27.