The Election Commission has made it mandatory for new voter applicants to declare their parents' inclusion in the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls when submitting Form 6 online.
The requirement, introduced via administrative instructions, applies to first-time voters, newly eligible citizens, and deleted electors seeking re-enrolment. Applicants cannot complete the online form without providing this information.
New declaration in Form 6
The online Form 6 on the ECINET portal now includes a mandatory section between Parts J and K. Applicants must select one of three options:
- Their own name appeared in the previous SIR electoral roll
- A parent or grandparent's name appeared in the previous SIR roll
- Neither the applicant nor their parents were included in the earlier roll
For the first two options, applicants must provide the Assembly constituency, polling booth number, and serial number from the previous SIR. The portal does not specify consequences for selecting the third option.
Implementation and purpose
An Election Commission official stated the declaration was first introduced during Bihar's SIR exercise in June 2023 and has since been adopted in states and Union Territories where SIR has been conducted. The measure aims to map electors and reduce the number of supporting documents required for new voter applications.
The development follows nationwide SIR exercises to update electoral rolls by removing duplicate, deceased, or ineligible voters. Completed in states like West Bengal, Bihar, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the process continues in other regions. The revisions have led to significant deletions from voter lists, raising questions about future applications.
